A virus hoax is typically distributed by e mail to warn' recipients of a new threat to computer systems security. After detailing how this new virus is a serious threat, the email advises you to forward the message to everyone you know. This 'chain letter' effect causes one kind of real harm.Virus hoaxes can circulate widely. Suppose a recipient distributes it to 10 people and each of those 10 people distribute it to 10 more people, and so on down the line. After only six generations, one million bogus e-mail messages will circulate throughout the Internet. By the seventh generation the number reaches 10 million, and by the eighth generation - 100 million e-mail messages that serve no purpose are clogging up networks worldwide. This effect can cause servers or routers (specialized computers that route Internet traffic) to slow down or even crash.
