Computer viruses are a very real threat to computing today.
Macintosh users are much more fortunate, with the total of Macintosh specific viruses numbering to about 40. Viruses are programmed by individuals who hold no regard for other people's property, and care nothing about your computer if it gets wiped out. That's the bad news. The worse news is that there are some individuals out there who find it funny to spread rumors about false viruses, just to muddy the waters a little. These are known as virus hoaxes , and they are not real.