Fact Check

Invitation Facebook Virus

Warning about the Invitation/Olympic Torch computer virus that 'burns the whole hard disc C of your computer.'

Published Feb. 13, 2006

Claim:

Virus:   Invitation Facebook.


HOAX


Examples:


[Collected via e-mail, July 2012]

VERY URGENT.........PLEASE READ AND SEND TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW -

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS NOTICE TO YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, CONTACTS!

In the coming days, you should be aware.....Do not open any message with
an attachment called: Invitation FACEBOOK, regardless of who sent it. It
is a virus that opens an OlympIc torch that burns the whole hard disc C of
your computer.

This virus will be received from someone you had in your address book.
That's why you should send this message to all your contacts. It is better
to receive this email 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive an email called: Invitation FACEBOOK, though sent by a
friend, do not open it and delete it immediately. It is the worst virus
announced by CNN.

A new virus has been discovered recently that has been classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. It is a Trojan Horse that
asks you to install an adobe flash plug-in. Once you install it, it's all
over. And there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply
destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information of
their function is saved.
 



[Collected via e-mail, 2006]

WARNING

You should be alert during the next days: Do not open any message with an attached filed called "Invitation" regardless of who sent it. It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which "burns" the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it. If you receive a mail called "invitation", though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately.

This is the worst virus announced by CNN, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW, COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS AND REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US
 


[Collected via e-mail, November 2007]

VIRUS ALERT!!

You should be alert during the next days:

Do not open any message with an attached file called "Merry Christmas" regardless of who sent it, It is a virus that opens as an Open Log Fire and will burn the whole hard disc in your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called "Merry Christmas", though sent by a friend, do not open it and shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.

This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.
 


[Collected via e-mail, January 2010]

Emails with pictures of Gordon Brown actually smiling are being sent and the moment that you open these emails your computer will crash and you will not be able to fix it!

If you get an email along the lines of Gordon Brown smiling or Gordon Brown even "looking happy" don't open the attachment.

This e-mail is being distributed through countries around the globe, but mainly in England , Wales and Scotland

Be considerate & send this warning to who ever you know.


 

Origins:   The classics never go away, it seems, so just in time for the 2006 Winter Olympics (and again in 2010 and 2014) someone dusted off an old hoax virus warning most commonly seen in its incarnation as the "[Virtual] Card for You" hoax

and reintroduced it as an "Olympic Torch" virus warning (also known as the "Invitation virus"). After the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009 it was sent around again as a warning about a virus called "Black in the White House," and in 2010 the same hoax was circulated yet again, this time with a tongue-in-cheek notice that virus mailings were accompanied by pictures of Gordon Brown (then the UK's Prime Minister) "actually smiling."

The bottom line is that this same basic hoax has been circulating in various languages since at least 2000, with occasional changes along the way. No such (incurable) virus exists, has been identified by McAfee, or was reported on by CNN.

Additional information:  





W32/MyWife.d@MM!M24 A Virtual Card for You Hoax (McAfee)

Last updated:   12 February 2014

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.