I received the following message from Jan Schilling of General Electric.  (I
work with Jan as a member of the Ohio Coalition for Mathematics and Science.)
 
You may wish to distribute the message to other networks.
 
Bob
_______________________________________________________________________________
 
Sender:       Ohio Mathematics & Science Coalition
<[log in to unmask]>
Poster:       Jan Schilling <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      FW: Beware of the Virus
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Please distribute ASAP
 
 
Subject: Beware of the Virus
Date: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 10:34AM
Priority: High
 
 
 
> :: > >>       There is a computer virus that is being sent across the
 
> :: > >> Internet.   If you receive an e-mail message with the subject
 
> :: > >> line "Good  Times",   DO NOT  read  the  message,  DELETE  it
 
> :: > >> immediately.  Please read the messages below.  Some miscreant
 
> :: > >> is sending  e-mail under  the title "Good Times" nation wide,
 
> :: > >> 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.
 
> :: > >>
 
> :: > >> *************************************************************
 
> :: > >>
 
> :: > >> WARNING!!!!!!!  INTERNET VIRUS
 
> :: > >>
 
> :: > >>       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 e-mail 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- 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  e-mail 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  here 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.
 
> :: > >>
 
> :: > >>>                               E N D  O F  N O T E
 
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