I don't know whether the following report of a virus on the internet is
real or bogus, but I thought I would pass it on just in case. It has been
circulated on a couple environmentalist lists. Whether true or not, it
takes little effort to protect yourself - you are advised to immediately
delete any message called "Good Times" WITHOUT reading it or downloading
it! Those who are interested can read further:
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Priority: High
TO: ALL CMPEOPLE
FROM: EDDIE CORREIA/IT DEPT
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY!
The following notice came across my internet connect this morning and will
be released by DOE-HQ today, although it may be too late in some cases.
"There is a new 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.
Someone is sending e-mail under the title "goodtimes" nationwide. If you
get anything like this, DON'T DOWNLOAD 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.
Thought you might like to know...
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 Online that is unparalled 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.
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 test
e-mail message with the subject line reading simply "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 received-mail file or a sent-mail file, if it can
find one. It will then 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." Please pass this
on...especially to anyone you know that uses "America Online" regularly.