31 May 2001

Over the last two days people have been receiving e-mails warning them that the sulfnbk.exe file may be present on their computer. The e-mail goes on to say this file is a virus which activates on 1 June and should be deleted. THIS IS A HOAX.

The sulfnbk.exe file is actually a windows utility to recover long file names that have reset to the old DOS eight letter names. If you have deleted the file it probably will never cause your computer any problems. But it is still a good idea not to delete any system file.

If you have received this e-mail from a well meaning friend or colleague, thank them politely and refer them to the virus myths web site. Always be careful about sending out warnings like this, the amount of time and bandwidth consumed with these things makes it as damaging as a real virus. Before ever sending such a message out check sources such as the virus myths page or do a net search for the words listed.

Take that extra ten minutes and it saves us all a lot of time and embarrassment. Happy computing.