A number of other sites keep an updated list of virus hoaxes. These organizations both explain how viruses work and what can and cannot hurt your computer. In order for a virus to infect your computer, you must execute an already infected program or boot from an infected disk. Therefore, to get a virus sent to you via email, you need to actually run the program attached to the email message. Common sense tells you not to run any program sent to you unless you know the origins of the program and the person sending it to you.
Macro viruses are another story.
A macro virus can hide in Microsoft Word and Excel documents. When these documents are opened in your version of Word or Excel, the virus is executed. Sometimes it's as simple as corrupting your version of Word and you need to reinstall the program. Other times, the consequences are more dangerous. The best protection is to make sure that your email program does not automatically launch Word if it sees a Word attachment.