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Subject:Re: New virus by email - vicious one From:Peter Kent <71601 -dot- 1266 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 3 Nov 1995 10:25:04 EST
Dick,
The following "FCC" announcement about GOOD TIMES is total nonsense. It's not
only a fraud, but it's a very old fraud. I thought this had died months ago.
Viruses cannot be transferred in ASCII text. Loading ASCII text into an
e-mail program is not the same as running a program, and can do no harm!
The only forms of e-mail message that can do harm are the newer, fancier
methods, such as those used by Microsoft Network, which allow people to place
files containing macros (such as Word for Windows files containing macros that
run when the file is opened). Plain ASCII methods--such as those used by this
mailing list--are harmless.
>>>>>>>>>------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 1995 10:46:00 PSTFrom: "Dimock, Dick"
<red -at- ELSEGUNDOCA -dot- ATTGIS -dot- COM>Subject: New virus by email - vicious oneEric, I
think this affects us all. Most of us don't hang around any virusListsor
newsgroups.I just received an urgent virus alert from my company, a vicious
one thatpropagates by email. That means US!Text follows.
***********************************************
Please do not read any mail messages with the subject"Good Times" it may
contain a virus. Just delete the message
Details:
The FCC released a warning last Wednesday October 25/95 concerning a matter
ofmajor importance to any regular user of the InterNet. Apparently, a
newcomputer virus has been engineered by a user of America Online that
isunparalleled in its destructive capability. Other, more well-known viruses
such as Stoned, Airwolf, and Michaelangelo pale in comparison to theprospects
of this newest creation by a warped mentality. What makesthis virus so
terrifying, said the FCC, is the fact that no program needs tobe exchanged for
a new computer to be infected. It can be spread throughthe existing e-mail
systems of the InterNet. Once acomputer is infected, one of several things can
happen. If thecomputer contains a hard drive, that will most likely be
destroyed.If the program is not stopped, the computer's processor will be
placed inan nth-complexityinfinite binary loop - which can severely damage
the processor if leftrunning that way too long. Unfortunately, most
novice computer users will not realize what is happening until it is far too
late.Luckily, there is one sure means of detecting what is now known asthe
"Good Times" virus. It always travels to new computers the same way ina text
e-mail message with the subject line reading simply "GoodTimes". Avoiding
infection is easy once the file has been received - notreading it. The act of
loading the file into the mail server's ASCII buffercausesthe "Good Times"
mainline program to initialize and execute. The programis highly intelligent
- it will send copies of itself to everyone whosee-mail address is contained
in a received-mail file or a sent- mail file, ifit can find one. It will then
proceed to trash the computer it is runningon.The bottom line here is - if you
receive a file with the subject line"Good Times", delete it immediately!
Do not read it! Rest assuredthat whoever's name was on the "From:" line
was surely struck by the virus.Warn your friends and local system users of
this newest threat to theInterNet! It could save them a lot of time and
money.<<<<<<
