Interpreting Warning Messages
You may have seen a warning message that appeared to come from your antivirus program — and said it found a virus. First response: Separate fact from fiction.
If your message was wholly contained within an e-mail message, then it’s most likely a “spam” (junk) message, and one of two things is going on:
- Someone may be trying to trick you into visiting a Web site where you can really get infected with something.
- Someone may be trying to get you to input your credit-card number, whether for some legitimate or (often) illegitimate reason.
Both unsavory tricks are typical. If you’re not sure, you may want to grab a copy of Fighting Spam For Dummies (also from Wiley) and look into it further.
