Is this a true warning or is it just something funny?

Question

i received it from my friend by email 2-day:

I don't like chain mail but this isn't chain mail. This is a warning about a virus that is spreading very quickly. Please read...

Get this sent around to your contacts ASAP. We don't need this virus

spreading

around.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS:

You should be alert during the next days:

Do not open any message with an attached file called 'Invitation'

regardless of who sent it, It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch

which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her

contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to

all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to

receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called 'invitation' , though sent by a friend, do

not open it and shut down your computer immediately. This is the

worst virus

announced by CNN, it has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive

virus ever.

This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for

this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero

Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept

SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW ,

COPY THIS E-MAIL AND SEND! IT TO YOUR FRIENDS

AND REMEMBER: IF YOU

SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF

Answer 1

Olympic Torch is a computer virus hoax sent out by e-mail. The hoax e-mails first appeared in February 2006. The "virus" referred to by the e-mail does not actually exist. The hoax e-mail warns recipients of a recent outbreak of "Olympic Torch" viruses, contained in e-mails titled "Invitation", which erase the hard disk of the user's computer when opened. The hoax email further purports the virus to be acknowledged by such reputable sources as CNN, McAfee and Microsoft as one of the most dangerous viruses yet reported. In reality, the "Olympic Torch" virus is non-existent, and generally has not been reported by the organizations quoted.

If received, this hoax e-mail can safely be ignored and deleted.

read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Tor...

Answer 2

Hard drives cannot be "burned" unless you throw your computer into a fire of at least 600 degrees F.

Answer 3

The message is a hoax. Variants of this message have been appearing since 2000. I'm providing a link in the sources with a more detailed explanation :-)

Answer 4

as what eyes see it could be real but when I did the research on it, I found this

http://antivirus.about.com/od/emailhoaxe...

its up to our mind to decide.

Answer 5

HOAX

Please do not pass it along.  Please contact the person who sent it to you and tell them it was a hoax.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Tor...

Answer 6

There is some truth to the email.  Generally you shouldn't open attachments on emails that is a good way to get a virus.  Virus use the address book on an infected machine to make it appear to come from someone you know.  There have been viruses in the past that erase part of the hard drive they are not that common now. Usually virus writers want to use your computer for something.  Sending spam,  botnet etc.

While the chain email has some truth in it there isn't a recent virus that does what the email explains.

By the way usually any chain email is not entirely true.  If it was true more repeatable media outlets would carry the story and wouldn't need to be sent by email.