Like Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, an eyebrow was raised today when I read the subject line of an important-looking email. It said, ”VERY URGENT – PLEASE READ – NOT A JOKE.”
“Oh boy, here we go again,” I thought, but I read the email, anyway. It warned against opening any email received from someone named “Simon Ashton,” because, it gasped, “he is a hacker!” Oh, my!
According to the urgent warning, if you opened this doomsday email, Mr. Ashton would “get on your list” and be able to “figure out your ID computer address” and “hack your mail.” “Subsequently,” the alarming message continued, “you will lose everything in your PC!” Furthermore, it claimed, this information came straight from Microsoft and Norton.
When it comes to the Internet, the ability to separate fact from fiction is critical. The Internet is the world’s largest encyclopedia, containing a wealth of good information on just about any subject you can imagine. The Internet is also the world’s largest source of misrepresentations, half-truths, hoaxes and outright lies.
Internet falsehoods often appear as totally legitimate, believable ideas. They may look “official” and, indeed, may come from otherwise trustworthy sources, yet be completely bogus. Blindly trusting Internet “facts” is like blindly trusting the evening news on television. Some people seem to believe that if it comes from Katy Couric’s mouth, then, by golly, it simply must be true, but we all know where that sort of blind faith can lead. Likewise, some people seem to think that if Uncle Joe-Bob forwarded it to them in an email, or they saw it on some fancy-looking website, then it must be true. Au contraire, mon frère.
“OK, Mr. French-quoting smarty-pants geek,” you may be thinking, “how are regular computer users like myself supposed to be able to separate Internet fact from fiction?” Fortunately, there are some easy-to-use Internet resources that can help you in your quest.
My primary fact-finding tool is Google, which can be considered the index to the world’s largest encyclopedia. Don’t even get me started on how great alternative search websites like Bing are (not). I don’t have time to waste; Google is the best and that’s where I go.
Next in the tool bag are hoax-fighting websites like Hoax-slayer.com, Snopes.com, Hoaxbusters.org and Truthorfiction.com. These websites maintain archives of known Internet hoaxes and are constantly on the lookout for new Internet scams. Each website has its advantages and disadvantages. Snopes, the heavyweight of hoax-fighting websites, has a huge database, but has become overly commercialized and sends all sorts of tracking cookies and annoying “pop-under” ads to your computer. Hoaxbusters’ website looks a bit amateurish, but has an awesomely entertaining “Big List of Internet Hoaxes,” which is great reading.
Using this bag of fact-finding tools is easy. Take, for example, the email mentioned above, warning everyone about Mr. Ashton. Man, oh man, this email had the stink of “fake” all over it, but, being the dutiful researcher that I am, I decided to spend a minute or two checking it out. I certainly didn’t want Mr. Ashton to “get on my list.”
I typed “Simon Ashton” into a Google search box and hit “Enter.”
In less than a second, I had my answer. Fake. Fraud. Scam. Apparently, this exact email had been circulating around the Internet for many years, duping ignorant Internet users into forwarding its phony advice to everyone in their contacts list. My Google Search results even had links to the various scam-fighting websites like Snopes. Using the “search” functions of the sites confirmed my Google results. Simon Ashton Email Hacker Myth: busted.
There you have it: all the best ways to separate Internet fact from fiction. Please use them before forwarding any “important” messages. You’ll have fun learning what’s what and you’ll save everyone else a lot of time.