A terrifying viral video in Texas

Police in one Texas city are telling residents not to open a certain video attachment.  It's an interesting snapshot of how we fear the digital world.

First, one key element is that the content is allegedly kiddie porn.  There's no other information about it - "Other than being considered child pornography, Marshall police have not given any further details about the video" -  a presentation which cloaks the object in mystery.

Second, the transmission mechanism involves spoofing the identities of a given user's contact list.  Which led police to this bit of advice:

The police department told a commenter on the Facebook post that the video may come in the form of a message of someone claiming they want it to go viral. Marshall police warn people to not open messages from anyone they know.

Do "not open messages from anyone they know"?  

Third, there's hacking and suchlike: "The department also warned that the video could have viruses attached to it."

(thanks to Jesse "Was Once From Texas" Walker)