It seems like you get about 900 separate emails a day and the last thing you want to receive is another 127 messages warning you about a virus that will cause the letters on your keyboard to disappear or send death threats from your mail account to your in-laws.
But chances are you get your fair share of notices, and the sad thing is, many of them probably come from your friends and other people who are trying to help you out. And like the good Internet citizen that you are, you dutifully send back a response informing the person, in the kindest words possible, that the virus alert is a hoax. While this scenario may not take a lot of time on your part, it certainly puts a load on the mail server, since the user probably also sends this notice to all of his friends. The trick is to make sure your friends (and maybe even you) know how to spot a virus.

The alerts usually involve some type of ominous warning of the damage that the virus can do to your machine along with a bit of fictitious, though technical sounding, documentation. They usually drop a couple of industry names in the notice to add credibility to the claim. They won't, however, list a link to that company's Web site where you can read the alert for yourself.

Information is your best solution When you send out your little email warning explaining how to recognize false virus alerts and urban myths, you should include links to a few legitimate virus sites as well as sites dedicated to hoaxes and myths. For your convenience, we've listed a number of these below.

Snopes http://www.snopes.com
Probably the most comprehensive, and entertaining, site to help you decide which hoax is real and which is an urban myth. It's a great link to send your friends when they tell you that Microsoft is going to send them hundreds of dollars for simply forwarding an email!.

Symantec http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
The makers of Norton's AntiVirus maintain not only a list of hoaxes but also definitions to rid your computer of viruses.

You could reply with the following email.

Subject: Gullibility Virus Spreading over the Internet!

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WARNING, CAUTION, DANGER, AND BEWARE!
Gullibility Virus Spreading over the Internet!
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WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Institute for the Investigation of Irregular Internet Phenomena announced today that many Internet users are becoming infected by a new virus that causes them to believe without question every groundless story, legend, and dire warning that shows up in their inbox or on their browser. The Gullibility Virus, as it is called, apparently makes people believe and forward copies of silly hoaxes relating to cookie recipes, email viruses, taxes on modems, and get-rich-quick schemes.

"These are not just readers of tabloids or people who buy lottery tickets based on fortune cookie numbers," a spokesman said. "Most are otherwise normal people, who would laugh at the same stories if told to them by a stranger on a street corner." However, once these same people become infected with the Gullibility Virus, they believe anything they read on the Internet.

"My immunity to tall tales and bizarre claims is all gone," reported one weeping victim. "I believe every warning message and sick child story my friends forward to me, even though most of the messages are anonymous."

Another victim, now in remission, added, "When I first heard about Good Times, I just accepted it without question. After all, there were dozens of other recipients on the mail header, so I thought the virus must be true." It was a long time, the victim said, before she could stand up at a Hoaxees Anonymous meeting and state, "My name is Jane, and I've been hoaxed." Now, however, she is spreading the word. "Challenge and check whatever you read," she says.

Internet users are urged to examine themselves for symptoms of the virus, which include the following:

* the willingness to believe improbable stories without thinking

* the urge to forward multiple copies of such stories to others

* a lack of desire to take three minutes to check to see if a story is true

T. C. is an example of someone recently infected. He told one reporter, "I read on the Net that the major ingredient in almost all shampoos makes your hair fall out, so I've stopped using shampoo." When told about the Gullibility Virus, T. C. said he would stop reading email, so that he would not become infected.

Anyone with symptoms like these is urged to seek help immediately. Experts recommend that at the first feelings of gullibility, Internet users rush to their favorite search engine and look up the item tempting them to thoughtless credence. Most hoaxes, legends, and tall tales have been widely discussed and exposed by the Internet community.

Courses in critical thinking are also widely available, and there is online help from many sources, including

* Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability at <http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html>

* Symantec Anti Virus Research Center at <http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html>

* McAfee Associates Virus Hoax List at <http://www.mcafee.com/support/hoax.html>

* Dr. Solomons Hoax Page at <http://www.drsolomons.com/vircen/hoax.html>

* The Urban Legends Web Site at <http://www.urbanlegends.com>

* Urban Legends Reference Pages at <http://www.snopes.com>

* Datafellows Hoax Warnings at <http://www.Europe.Datafellows.com/news/hoax.htm>

Those people who are still symptom free can help inoculate themselves against the Gullibility Virus by reading some good material on evaluating sources, such as

* Evaluating Internet Research Sources at <http://www.sccu.edu/faculty/R_Harris/evalu8it.htm>

* Evaluation of Information Sources at <http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/evaln.htm>

* Bibliography on Evaluating Internet Resources at <http://refserver.lib.vt.edu/libinst/critTHINK.HTM>

Lastly, as a public service, Internet users can help stamp out the Gullibility Virus by sending copies of this message to anyone who forwards them a hoax.

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This message is so important, we're sending it anonymously! Forward it to all your friends right away! Don't think about it! This is not a chain letter! This story is true! Don't check it out! This story is so timely, there is no date on it! This story is so important, we're using lots of exclamation points! For every message you forward to some unsuspecting person, the Home for the Hopelessly Gullible will donate ten cents to itself. (If you wonder how the Home will know you are forwarding these messages all over creation, you're obviously thinking too much.)

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ACT NOW! DON'T DELAY! LIMITED TIME! NOT SOLD IN ANY STORE!

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