Question about a hoax slfnbk.exe

[chickaboom]

Well I got this email message from a girlfriend telling me to find this file and delete it cause it'll wipe out my hard drive on June 1 and she's sorry she sent it to me (unknowingly). I'm always skeptical so I went to snopes and at snopes and also at McAfee it's listed as a hoax.

http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/virus/virus.htm#sulfnbk

That's good. But I do have a file where they said it would be (C:Windows/Command) and the little .exe icon looks like graffiti. Why is it there if it's a hoax? It's just someone practicing doing virusus so they made one to download but it doesn't do anything?

Freaks me out a little because how did it get there. I didn't open it of course.

Does anyone have knowledge about this?

[mmj]

Originally posted by chickaboom
But I do have a file where they said it would be (C:Windows/Command) and the little .exe icon looks like graffiti. Why is it there if it's a hoax? It's just someone practicing doing virusus so they made one to download but it doesn't do anything?

Freaks me out a little because how did it get there. I didn't open it of course.

Does anyone have knowledge about this?

SULFNBK.EXE is a file that was installed by windows. Everyone has it. I have it. I don't know why the icon looks like that and I don't know what it is for but it is installed like that by windows.

The email is a hoax because it is trying to get you to delete a file that it knows everyone has anyway. There is no virus.

The McAfee article explains what to do if you fell for the hoax and actually deleted the sulfnbk.exe file. It tells you how to restore the file.

[chickaboom]

Thank you mmj.

I read more about it at http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/ven...e.warning.html and learned Sulfnbk.exe, is a Microsoft Windows utility that is used to restore long file names.

As you said, it is a file we need, but they say it can be infected. Well, that's true for any file. I wrote Microsoft to see if they can tell me why the type on the file is a grafitti font. We'll see if they write back. I'm not holding my breath though!

All the moms in my Moms Club are in a dither over it. Some deleted the file right away.

[mmj]

Ooops, well that's how these viruses work. The virus has no trojan but it simply consists of a hoax email message with no malicious code whatsoever. I'm sure one could still call it a "virus" - although this term would be confusing to people.

The simplest virus ever. Anyone could write one. And contribute to the worldwide email spam problem.

By the way thanks for the snopes link.

[chickaboom]

You're welcome. Anytime.

I tell you, we moved from Silcon Valley to Southern California last December. It's like a vast wasteland down here. Some people in my neighborhood are not even online. If I'm looking for info on the latest trends or hoaxes or what have you I can't just open the newspaper and get the latest word, I have to go on a big old hunt.

[Mike Ossendrijver]

I think the Chernobyl virus uses SLFNBK.EXE for infection, though

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it does ... and that icon is has makes me over-suspective really

[mjames]

I'm rather surprised how many people fell for this hoax. I got "warning" e-mails from two friends, including one co-worker. Even very computer literate people believed it. I heard about it before I received the e-mails, so I never fell for it. Besides, I don't need an e-mail warning me, I let my virus definitions take care of it.

[chickaboom]

I have had like 8 emails about this in the past two days - all women from this one Mom's group I'm in. They have a girl who forwards all kinds of stuff and says "better safe than sorry." I should like to brain her but I have to try and be nice.

mjames - you let your virus definition take care of it. I'm going to say the same thing from now on. Except, do you mean virus detection rather than defintion? I think so, but want to be sure I understand right.

[mmj]

When I first wrote in this thread, I had not yet received this email.

Well, I just received one from somebody I know well, who had addressed it to 110 (one hundred and ten) people. Probably her entire address list.

I quickly informed her of her mistake, but I am afraid these 110 people will start forwarding the email now. I hope she receives my mail and sends out an explanation to those people.

[chickaboom]

Oh my gosh! One hundred ten people!? I guess that's exactly what these people who make the hoaxes depend on.

[Hartmann]

There was another one of these e-mails sent out about a hoax .bat file.... if the .bat file were to be deleted it would have messed some of the internet stuff on a Win 9x comp..... Why can't people just send somewhat meaningful e-mail.

[bman]

my god.. i just heard about this new virus.. its called system.ini you must search your computer for the system.ini file and delete or it will blow up your computer, and do all these other things to you..
demagnatize all your credit cards that are within 1 hundred feet of the computer,
change the brightness and contrast on all the TV's in you house,
erase any VHS tapes you have in the house,
scratch any CD's or DVD's you hav in the house,
and shave all your pets.
It will make you toaster burn all your toast,
Melt everything in your freezer,
Spoil the milk in your refridgerator.....

Disclamer:
for those who dont know, this is a joke do NOT delete the system.ini file.

i got one similar to this one time, except it didn't have the little warning at the end... i wonder if anyone actually fell for it???

[RussellG]

Probaly, there is a lot of stupid people online. Now where is that system.ini file....

[chickaboom]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bman
[B]my god.. i just heard about this new virus.. its called system.ini you must search your computer for the system.ini file and delete or it will blow up your computer, and do all these other things to you..
demagnatize all your credit cards that are within 1 hundred feet of the computer,
change the brightness and contrast on all the TV's in you house,
erase any VHS tapes you have in the house,
scratch any CD's or DVD's you hav in the house,
and shave all your pets.
It will make you toaster burn all your toast,
Melt everything in your freezer,
Spoil the milk in your refridgerator.....

I love a guy with a sense of humor! Now this is an email I will send out to ALL my friends. lol!

[bman]

Originally posted by chickaboom
I love a guy with a sense of humor! Now this is an email I will send out to ALL my friends. lol!

well i just love a girl, that loves a guy with a good sense of humor...

[creole]

It will re-write your hard drive. Not only that, but it will scramble any disks that are even close to your computer. And, it will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice cream melts. System.ini will get your girlfriend AND her sister pregnant and leave the toilet seat up after it uses the bathroom

It will demagnetize the strips on all your credit cards, screw up the tracking on your VCR and use subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you try to play.

It will give your ex-boy/girlfriend your new phone number. It will mix Kool-Aid into your fish tank. It will drink all your beer and leave its socks out on the coffee table when there's company coming over. It will put a dead kitten in the back pocket of your good suit and hide your car keys when you are late for work.

System.ini will make you fall in love with a penguin. It will give you nightmares about circus midgets. It will pour sugar in your gas tank and shave off both your eyebrows while dating your current boy/girlfriend behind your back and billing the dinner and hotel room to your Visa card.

It moves your car randomly around parking lots so you can't find it. It will kick your dog. It will leave rude messages on your boss's voice mail - in your voice!

It is insidious and subtle. It is dangerous and terrifying to behold. It is also a rather interesting shade of mauve.

System.ini will give you Dutch Elm disease. It will leave the toilet seat up. It will make a batch of methamphetamine in your bathtub and then leave bacon cooking on the stove while it goes out to chase high school kids with your new snowblower

[mmj]

Originally posted by bman

well i just love a girl, that loves a guy with a good sense of humor...

a

Well SitePoint just loves it when there is so much love shown between members.

[bman]

well i love you most of all scarecro....uhhh.. i mean mmj...


haha