!!!IMPORTANT!!! Computer Virus Info.

[tom cloud]

>There is a computer virus that is being sent across the Internet.  If
>you receive an email message with the subject line "Good Times", DO
>NOT read the message, DELETE it immediately.
>
>Some miscreant is sending email under the title "Good Times"
>nationwide, if you get anything like this, DON'T DOWN LOAD THE FILE!
>It has a virus that rewrites your hard drive, obliterating anything on
>it.  Please be careful and forward this mail to anyone you care about.
>The FCC released a warning last Wednesday concerning a matter of major
>importance to any regular user of the Internet.  Apparently a new
>computer virus has been engineered by a user of AMERICA ON LINE that
>is unparalleled in its destructive capability.  Other more well-known
>viruses such as "Stoned", "Airwolf" and "Michaelangelo" pale in
>comparison to the prospects of this newest creation by a warped
>mentality.
>
>What makes this virus so terrifying, said the FCC, is the fact that no
>program needs to be exchanged for a new computer to be infected.  It
>can be spread through the existing email systems of the Internet.
>
>Once a Computer is infected, one of several things can happen.  If the
>computer contains a hard drive, that will most likely be destroyed.
>If the program is not stopped, the computer's processor will be placed
>in an nth-complexity infinite binary loop - which can severely damage
>the processor if left running 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 as the "Good Times" virus.  It always travels to new
>computers the same way in a text email message with the subject line
>reading "Good Times".  Avoiding infection is easy once the file has
>been received simply by NOT READING IT!  The act of loading the file
>into the mail server's ASCII buffer causes the "Good Times" mainline
>program to initialize and execute.
>
>The program is highly intelligent - it will send copies of itself to
>everyone whose email address is contained in a receive-mail file or a
>sent-mail file, if it can find one.  It will then proceed to trash the
>computer it is running on.
>
>The bottom line is:  - if you receive a file with the subject line
>"Good Times", delete it immediately!  Do not read it.  Rest assured
>that 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 the Internet!  It could save them a lot of time and money."
>
>
>     POC:  Denise Fisher
>           NAVICP Mechanicsburg Information Systems Security Manager
>           Code M08911
>           extension 6949
>
>
>"Any man who would trade liberty for security deserves neither." -  Ben
>Franklin

HOGWASH !!!!


Tom Cloud <cloud at peaches.ph.utexas.edu>