"Life is Beautiful" Virus Hoax

Summary: New virus is out that destroys your hard drive. Anti-Virus companies are unable to stop it.

Circulation: 2007

Status: Hoax

The Debunking

Really?? Do you really think there is a virus out there that stumps ALL of the anti-virus vendors, Microsoft, AOL and all the hundreds of (good-guy) code-writers? Do you really believe that no one can stop this fatal virus? To answer this, we have to understand what a virus is and how it affects your computer. Remember, there is no building that is burglar-proof, no computer system that is hack-proof, no structure that is fire-proof and no virus code that is all powerful and can't be counteracted.

Surprise, surprise! This supposed warning even has it's own Wikipedia page. This is the first one that I ever saw that got a page on Wikipedia.org

Let's review what a virus is...

According to the commonly held definition, a computer virus is a computer program written to alter the way a computer operates, without the permission or knowledge of the user, by hiding in other program files. A true virus does basically two things:

  • Replicate itself
  • Execute itself

Keeping that in mind, let's evaluate the claims of the "warning" one by one:

  • "This information arrived this morning, Direct from both Microsoft and Norton."

    • Not really. Microsoft does not issue virus warnings directly. That comes from antivirus vendors. Speaking of which, "Norton" is the name of a product. The company's name is Symantec. Saying that "Norton announced..." is like saying "Mustang issued a news release..." instead of "Ford issued a news release..."

  • "Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet."

    • As I've continued to say, if an email says "send this to everyone you know..." Don't! It's a hoax.

  • "You may receive an apparently harmless e -mail with a Power Point presentation..."

    • No you won't. There is no Powerpoint presentation going around by that name. Period.

  • "Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password."

    • Again, no you won't. Ask yourself this: How did the email get sent to you? Most viruses are spread by someone clicking a link, opening an email or some such thing. The virus then infects that person's computer and passes itself on to another unsuspecting person. So, the "person who sent it to you," most likely, is your friend. Rarely are viruses of this type sent on by the originator to everyone. It's too easily tracked back to the source that way.

  • "This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon."

    • Which Saturday is that? I've found evidence that this hoax was first spotted way back in 2002. I saw a couple of references to it the end of October of 2007. So, "last Saturday" could be any Saturday for the last 5 years. You'd think that all these important companies involved (Microsoft, AOL, Symantec, etc) would have a fix for this by now.

  • "AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the anti virus software's are not capable of destroyin it."

    • No they haven't. Go to AOL's website and look for any evidence of a news release or any mention of this "virus". There is none.

  • "The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself 'life owner'."

    • Please show me any evidence of this statement.

  • "PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL..."

    • Please don't. Before you forward any warning, please do a bit of research and check out the claims.

  • "THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SNOPES"

    • That may be the only truth of this email. Snopes does have a page confirming the email, but not in the way you'd think... They confirm the email is a hoax. You can read more about it at the Snopes.com Urban Legends website.

What's the bottom line? You can probably substitute any virus name in these emails and still have the same results: [Insert name of virus] is impossible to detect and will [insert terrible results]. [Insert name of important company] issued a warning and [insert TV show] has confirmed it.

Original Text:

Anyone-using Internet mail such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and so on.

This information arrived this morning, Direct from both Microsoft and Norton.

Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet.

You may receive an apparently harmless e -mail with a Power Point presentation " Life is Beautiful" If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, and delete it immediately.

If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying: "It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful."

Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password.

This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon. AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the anti virus software's are not capable of destroyin it.

The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself "life owner".

PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, And ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!

THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SNOPES

Links

Symantec web page about the virus warning.
McAfee's page announcing the hoax.
The Wikipedia debunking page.
About.com's page on the hoax.