FW: The Truth About SULFNBK.EXE... and other Hoaxes
Lance Hoxie
Description
Collection
Title:
FW: The Truth About SULFNBK.EXE... and other Hoaxes
Creator:
Lance Hoxie
Date:
5/31/2001
Text:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The attached message from Jeff Kingsley relates to my earlier message
regarding a virus alert. I'm sure Jeff is correct, but my advice is if you
do get an email about this, simply delete it.
Lance Hoxie
Amer. Board for Cert. in O&P
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffry G. Kingsley [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>]
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 2:56 PM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: Fwd: The Truth About SULFNBK.EXE... and other Hoaxes
>We've all gotten so many notes from friends who forwarded a chain letter
>(usually along with 500 other unlucky recipients) that went something like
>this:
>
>Do you believe that a friend of mine sent me an alert and the procedure
>that we
>have to follow for the possible infection of SULFNBK.EXE . And I had
checked,
>just to make sure.
>
>And then... the file was there, hidden even of McAfee and Norton, maybe
>waiting something to start work....
>
>The original recipients of this note checked their systems and were
>alarmed when
>they find SULFNBK.EXE there. Well, as you probably know by now,
SULFNBK.EXE
>file is a normal part of Windows that's used in managing long file names
(the
>file is usually found in in your C:\Windows\Command folder). Antivirus
>routines
>don't detect the file because it's not a virus. The virus warning is a
>complete hoax.
>
>There is a worm that can arrive as an email attachment named SULFNBK.EXE,
but
>that has nothing to do with the current hoax. All the major AV tools know
how
>to handle that worm; and by now everyone should know that you should never,
>ever---- EVER--- click on any email attachment, no matter what it's named
or
>whom it's from, without first at least running it through an AV
>scanner. And in
>any case, the use of the name SULFNBK.EXE is coincidental. The worm could
>have
>been called any Windows file; there's nothing special about SULFNBK.EXE.
>
>What's more, virus chain letters are almost always hoaxes: A good rule of
>thumb
>is NEVER to forward any email just because it says Urgent Pass this on to
>everyone! or comes from a buddy. In fact, anytime you get any email with
a
>pass this on to everyone! in it, or a letter that has been forwarded
>dozens of
>times, it's almost always (99.99999% of the time) a hoax or scam designed
>solely
>to generate a chain letter--- that is, to trick the gullible into
perpetrating
>the hoax.
>
>Don't be taken in! It only takes *literally* a minute to find out about
>if any
>email about:
>
>--supposed virus alerts (even if the email says they're confirmed by IBM,
>Microsoft, AOL and Oracle or some such)
>--pending legislation, including email surcharges and taxes
>--sick/dying/missing children who need email or prayers
>--body part theft rings
>--free vacation giveaways
>--free money or products from Bill Gates (or Disney or AOL or Nokia or....)
to
>those who forward the most emails
>--foreign government workers who will pay you to let them move large sums
of
>money through your bank account
>--or any of hundreds of similar chain letters.
>
>These are ALL almost always pure, utter hoaxes and scams.
>
>You can make yourself chain-letter-proof by taking literally about a minute
to
>check up on any claims made in chain letters. There are any number of
>resources
>you can use, including:
>
>Symantec Anti Virus Research Center at
> <URL Redacted>
>
>McAfee Associates Virus Hoax List at <URL Redacted>
>
>Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability at
> <URL Redacted>
>
>Debunking online and email hoaxes: http://www.kumite.com/myths/
>
>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
>
>
>
>ALWAYS take a few seconds to verify the truth of any chain email like
>this, and
>then tell your friends ONLY if it proves true. Otherwise, you're not
>doing your
>friends any favors, and in fact, you're just helping the hoaxers to waste
>people's time and bandwidth.
>
>Additional resources to strengthen your BS detectors How To Evaluate
Internet
>Research Sources at http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
>
>How To Evaluate Information Sources at
> http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/evaln.htm
The attached message from Jeff Kingsley relates to my earlier message
regarding a virus alert. I'm sure Jeff is correct, but my advice is if you
do get an email about this, simply delete it.
Lance Hoxie
Amer. Board for Cert. in O&P
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffry G. Kingsley [mailto:<Email Address Redacted>]
Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2001 2:56 PM
To: <Email Address Redacted>
Subject: Fwd: The Truth About SULFNBK.EXE... and other Hoaxes
>We've all gotten so many notes from friends who forwarded a chain letter
>(usually along with 500 other unlucky recipients) that went something like
>this:
>
>Do you believe that a friend of mine sent me an alert and the procedure
>that we
>have to follow for the possible infection of SULFNBK.EXE . And I had
checked,
>just to make sure.
>
>And then... the file was there, hidden even of McAfee and Norton, maybe
>waiting something to start work....
>
>The original recipients of this note checked their systems and were
>alarmed when
>they find SULFNBK.EXE there. Well, as you probably know by now,
SULFNBK.EXE
>file is a normal part of Windows that's used in managing long file names
(the
>file is usually found in in your C:\Windows\Command folder). Antivirus
>routines
>don't detect the file because it's not a virus. The virus warning is a
>complete hoax.
>
>There is a worm that can arrive as an email attachment named SULFNBK.EXE,
but
>that has nothing to do with the current hoax. All the major AV tools know
how
>to handle that worm; and by now everyone should know that you should never,
>ever---- EVER--- click on any email attachment, no matter what it's named
or
>whom it's from, without first at least running it through an AV
>scanner. And in
>any case, the use of the name SULFNBK.EXE is coincidental. The worm could
>have
>been called any Windows file; there's nothing special about SULFNBK.EXE.
>
>What's more, virus chain letters are almost always hoaxes: A good rule of
>thumb
>is NEVER to forward any email just because it says Urgent Pass this on to
>everyone! or comes from a buddy. In fact, anytime you get any email with
a
>pass this on to everyone! in it, or a letter that has been forwarded
>dozens of
>times, it's almost always (99.99999% of the time) a hoax or scam designed
>solely
>to generate a chain letter--- that is, to trick the gullible into
perpetrating
>the hoax.
>
>Don't be taken in! It only takes *literally* a minute to find out about
>if any
>email about:
>
>--supposed virus alerts (even if the email says they're confirmed by IBM,
>Microsoft, AOL and Oracle or some such)
>--pending legislation, including email surcharges and taxes
>--sick/dying/missing children who need email or prayers
>--body part theft rings
>--free vacation giveaways
>--free money or products from Bill Gates (or Disney or AOL or Nokia or....)
to
>those who forward the most emails
>--foreign government workers who will pay you to let them move large sums
of
>money through your bank account
>--or any of hundreds of similar chain letters.
>
>These are ALL almost always pure, utter hoaxes and scams.
>
>You can make yourself chain-letter-proof by taking literally about a minute
to
>check up on any claims made in chain letters. There are any number of
>resources
>you can use, including:
>
>Symantec Anti Virus Research Center at
> <URL Redacted>
>
>McAfee Associates Virus Hoax List at <URL Redacted>
>
>Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability at
> <URL Redacted>
>
>Debunking online and email hoaxes: http://www.kumite.com/myths/
>
>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
>
>
>
>ALWAYS take a few seconds to verify the truth of any chain email like
>this, and
>then tell your friends ONLY if it proves true. Otherwise, you're not
>doing your
>friends any favors, and in fact, you're just helping the hoaxers to waste
>people's time and bandwidth.
>
>Additional resources to strengthen your BS detectors How To Evaluate
Internet
>Research Sources at http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
>
>How To Evaluate Information Sources at
> http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~agsmith/evaln/evaln.htm
Citation
Lance Hoxie, “FW: The Truth About SULFNBK.EXE... and other Hoaxes,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 15, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/216533.
