Computer Hysteria:   The Dark Side
       by Berry F. Phillips   October 2004

October conjures up images of the dark side in the real and the virtual worlds.  The master conjurer, Harry Houdini, hovered between life and death to finally die October 31, 1927.  His reasoning was that dying on Halloween would make such great headlines, a true showman to the very end!  Houdini was obsessed with communicating with his deceased mother and made endless rounds of mediums. On becoming frustrated with the fakes, he developed a reputation as a debunker of hoaxes.  Every Halloween, séances are conducted worldwide to contact Houdini in the spirit world. Unfortunately, there have been no contacts to-date, suggesting that Houdini has not yet made his greatest, and by far most spectacular, escape from death. 

The Internet has its share of hoaxes to plague computer users.  Hoaxes and chain letters are e-mail messages that are written for one purpose: to get you to send them to everyone you know.  The messages they contain are usually untrue.  Most hoaxes play on your need to help other people. Chain letters, like hoaxes, offer luck or money to get you to send the messages to your friends.

How do you recognize a hoax?  Beware of a possible hoax when you see the words "send this to everyone you know", or some variant of that statement.  No real warning will tell you to send it to everyone you know, so it is probably a hoax.  Hoaxes often contain technical language and attempt to increase credibility by association.  Hoaxes and chain letters have three distinct elements, a hook, a threat, and a request.  WHEN YOU SUSPECT THAT THE E-MAIL MESSAGE IS A HOAX, DO NOT SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS! Check out the source, if known, by going to the Website to see if it confirms the message.  Then, and most important, go to any of the major virus company Websites, since most maintain an updated hoax page, to see if it is listed.  In most cases, common sense will eliminate the spread of Internet hoaxes and chain letters.  Also, see: www.snopes.com  for a list of hoaxes.

"Houdini dies on Halloween!"  Happy Halloween from the Computer Club of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma!    

Berry Phillips is a member of the CCOKC and a regular writer for the CCOKC website and the eMonitor