I got an email from a friend. It cited a page from snopes that showed a real virus threat. The only problem is that the e-mail didn't describe a real virus. here's the link: http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp

Basically you may receive notice that someone sent you an E-card from one of the many services. Your first clue should be that the person isn't named. The mail will say from a friend, a worshiper, a family member or something but not an actual name.

The e-mail said that clicking the link would download a virus that would "burn" your entire c: drive rendering your computer useless. That is where the hoax comes in. In fact it's a rather old hoax that predates the real threat by a number of years. Very few virus' are designed to directly damage your computer. hackers prefer spy ware and trojan horse programs that give them access to personal information or turn your computer into a slave for sending spam.

A virus known as the Storm Trojan will be loaded on your computer turning it into a spam machine. This Trojan works on the peer to peer network and is updated daily so that it's difficult to remove with anti-virus software. it is very true that the major antivirus companies are worried by this one. Even though it came out 1 1/2 years ago it is still causing them fits today. By running on the peer to peer network it bypasses many security protacals that are automatically disabled to let the PTP network operate. The designers are constantly updating and mutating the Trojan so that even the latest antivirus methods don't work and the virus is designed to automatically get updates everyday just like your antivirus software.

This is one of those rare breed that need to be stopped before they enter your machine. That is why I recommend firewalls and spy ware protection. Zone Alarm provides a good free firewall for download and it can ad an anti-spy ware tool bar to your browser. Added to anti virus software, also free from companies like AVG, it will go a long way to protecting your computer. Many other companies offer free protection software and you can learn more about them at places like download.com, c-net(parent site to download.com), komando.com or your favorite computer magazine website. Even a simple search for free firewall or free antivirus can get you links to anumber of good sites.

The safe way to check e-greetings is to go to the greeting card companies home page and find the page for pick-up. The worst case scenario in this situation is that you won't get an e-card but by not clicking an unconfirmed link you avoid downloading the virus.

Storm may be an example of state sponsered cyber terrorism tht may become more prevelant as time goes by. Experts suspect the people who wrote, update and use the storm trojan for spam and denial of service attacks are based in St Petersburg Russia and operating with state sponsership from the Russian Government.