SULFNBK.EXE
Encyclopedia
SULFNBK.EXE is an internal component of the Microsoft Windows
operating system
(in Windows 98
and Windows Me
) for restoring long file names.
The component became famous in the early 2000s as the subject of an e-mail
hoax
. The hoax claimed that SULFNBK.EXE was a virus
, and contained instructions to locate and delete the file. While the instructions worked, they were needless and (in some rare cases, for example, when the long file names are damaged and need to be restored) can cause disruptions, as SULFNBK.EXE is not a virus, but instead an operating system component.
Even people who didn't receive the e-mail were still perplexed if they found the file by themselves (because of its quickly hand-drawn icon), thinking that it could be a virus or trojan horse
.
In Windows 98 and Me, where the file existed, SULFNBK.EXE can be found in Windows "COMMAND" directory (a directory that contains command line tools, usually C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\).
A very similar hoax happened with jdbgmgr.exe
.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
(in Windows 98
Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
and Windows Me
Windows Me
Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows Me , is a graphical operating system released on September 14, 2000 by Microsoft, and was the last operating system released in the Windows 9x series. Support for Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006....
) for restoring long file names.
The component became famous in the early 2000s as the subject of an e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
. The hoax claimed that SULFNBK.EXE was a virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
, and contained instructions to locate and delete the file. While the instructions worked, they were needless and (in some rare cases, for example, when the long file names are damaged and need to be restored) can cause disruptions, as SULFNBK.EXE is not a virus, but instead an operating system component.
Even people who didn't receive the e-mail were still perplexed if they found the file by themselves (because of its quickly hand-drawn icon), thinking that it could be a virus or trojan horse
Trojan horse (computing)
A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.-Malware:A destructive program that masquerades as a benign...
.
In Windows 98 and Me, where the file existed, SULFNBK.EXE can be found in Windows "COMMAND" directory (a directory that contains command line tools, usually C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\).
A very similar hoax happened with jdbgmgr.exe
Jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax
The jdbgmgr.exe virus hoax involved an e-mail spam in 2002 that advised computer users to delete a file named jdbgmgr.exe because it was a computer virus...
.
External links
- Description of Sulfnbk.exe and How to Replace the Program File (Microsoft Support)
- Symantec Security Response - SULFNBK.EXE Warning (Symantec)
- sulfnbk hoax virus profile (McAfee)
- Sophos hoax description: SULFNBK (Sophos)
- F-Secure Hoax Information Pages: Sulfnbk.exe virus hoax (F-Secure)
- sulfnbk.exe virus (Vmyths.com)
- SULFNBK.EXE: Should the Windows file SULFNBK.EXE be deleted because it masks a dormant virus? (Snopes.com)