I am forwarding this from the CALL-L list. Hopes it puts some minds at ease.
Kitty Schweyer
schweyer@fis.utoronto.ca
Faculty of Information Science
Toronto, Canada
>Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1996 22:07:21 -0500
>To:SROBBINS.BROOKLAW@pcm.brooklaw.edu (Sara Robbins)
>From:schweyer@fis.utoronto.ca
>Subject:Virus Hoax
>
>>Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 15:29:47 -0400
>>From: "Judith M. Bird (by way of Stephen Abram <sabram@micromedia.on.ca>)"
>> <jbird@MAIL.ACCENT.NET>
>>Subject: VIRUS HOAX
>>
>>Here are some e-mails I have collected on the virus hoax, including one from
>>the esteemed Jim Carroll, author of Canadian Internet Handbook.:
>>
>>>Return-Path: <majordom@acs.ryerson.ca>
>>>Comments: Authenticated sender is <jcarroll@inforamp.net>
>>>From: "Jim Carroll" <jcarroll@jacc.com>
>>>Organization: Canadian Internet Handbook
>>>To: David Marsh <idmarsh@mindlink.bc.ca>, cancar-l@acs.ryerson.ca
>>>Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 06:42:47 +0000
>>>Subject: Re: VIRUS ON THE INTERNET
>>>Reply-To: jcarroll@jacc.com
>>>Priority: normal
>>>Sender: owner-cancar-l@acs.ryerson.ca
>>>
>>>I'd hate to tell you, but the so-called "GOOD TIMES" virus hoax
>>>emerged last year, was quickly discounted as a hoax, and seems to
>>>resurface every once in a while
>>>
>>>You can read a comprehensive FAQ about the hoax at
>>>http://www.cityscope.net/hoax1.html
>>>
>>>It's a classic case of how a false story emerges on the Internet and=20
>>>refuses to die.
>>>
>>
>>>Return-Path: <majordom@acs.ryerson.ca>
>>>>X-Sender: pdejager@tor.hookup.net
>>>>Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 06:57:19 -0500
>>>>To: David Marsh <idmarsh@mindlink.bc.ca>
>>>>From: pdejager@hookup.net (Peter de Jager)
>>>>Subject: It's a hoax folks... Re: VIRUS ON THE INTERNET
>>>>Cc: cancar-l@acs.ryerson.ca
>>>>Sender: owner-cancar-l@acs.ryerson.ca
>>>>
>>>>Sheesh... the GODD TIMES virus is a hoax.
>>>> You -cannot- get a virus from downloading a text based message.
>>>> Saying that you can catch a computer virus from a text based mail
>>>>message is exactly like saying you can catch AIDS from THIS message. ie.
>>>>the medium cannot carry the infection.
>>>> A virus -must- be something that a computer can 'run'
>>>> Things that 'run' include programmes, macros, config and sys files
>>>>(a macro in a word document is also something that can 'run' but which is
>>>>VERY different from a text based e-mail message).
>>>> Please, as reporters, do NOT continue to perpetuate this
>>>>mis-information.
>>>>
>>>>For your info -- in case you haven't seen this yet:
>>
>>>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>>Date: Tue, 30 Jul 1996 11:39:42 -1000
>>>From: Eileen Broms <broms@hawaii.edu>
>>
>>[...]
>>
>>>Subject: fwd: VIRUS ALERT!!!!! (fwd)
>>>
>>>You can read on but if you get a subject line on your e-mail that says
>>>"Good Times," don't read it. Delete it immediately. It's a "deadly"
>>>computer virus.
>>
>>[...]
>>
>>>It has a virus that rewrites your hard drive, obliterating anything on it.=
>>=20
>>>Please be careful and forward this mail to anyone you care about.
>>> =20
>>>>> WARNING!!!!!!! INTERNET VIRUS
>>> =20
>>>The FCC released a warning last Wednesday concerning a matter of major=20
>>>importance to any regular user of the Internet. Apparently a new=20
>>>computer virus has been engineered by a user of AMERICA ON LINE that is=20
>>>unparalleled in its destructive capability. What makes this virus so=20
>>>terrifying, said the FCC, is the fact that no program needs to be=20
>>>exchanged for a new computer to be infected. It can be spread through the=
>>=20
>>>existing email systems of the Internet.
>>> =20
>>>Once a Computer is infected, one of several things can happen. If the=20
>>>computer contains a hard drive, that will most likely be destroyed. If=20
>>>the program is not stopped, the computer's processor will be placed in=20
>>>an nth-complexity infinite binary loop -which can severely damage the=20
>>>processor if left running that way too long.
>>> =20
>>>Luckily, there is one sure means of detecting what is now known as the=20
>>>"Good Times" virus. It always travels to new computers the same way in a=20
>>>text email message with the subject line reading "Good Times". Avoiding=20
>>>infection is easy once the file has been received simply by NOT READING=20
>>>IT! The act of loading the file into the mail server's ASCII buffer=20
>>>causes the
>>>"Good Times" mainline program to initialize and execute.
>>> =20
>>>The program is highly intelligent-it will send copies of itself to=20
>>>everyone whose email address is contained in a receive-mail file or a=20
>>>sent-mail file, if it can find one. It will then proceed to trash the=20
>>>computer it is running on.
>>>>>
>>>The bottom line is: -if you receive a file with the subject line "Good=20
>>>Times", delete it immediately! Do not read it" Rest assured that=20
>>>whoever's name was on the "From" line was surely struck by the virus.=20
>>>Warn your friends and local system users of this newest threat to the=20
>>>Internet! It could save them a lot of time and money.
>>> =20
>>>Could you pass this along to your global mailing list as well?
>>> =20
>>---
>>Judith M. Bird
>>tel: (514)487-0559; fax: (514)487-0625
>>email: jbird@accent.net
>>---------------------------------------------------------------
>>| inTeger/acTif |
>>| Information Technology Education Group |
>>| Associ=E9s-conseil Technologies de l'information et formation |
>>| Toronto * Montreal http://www.inforamp.net/~mfelsky/ |
>>---------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>------------------------------
>>
>>Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 15:46:58 +0000
>>From: "Judith M. Bird" <jbird@MAIL.ACCENT.NET>
>>Subject: Virus Alert
>>
>>Guess I was duped!!
>>
>>>The good times virus is a cruel practical joke, chain letter and=20
>>>ultimately a hoax. Everyone can relax.
>>>
>>>I think there is a Web site devoted to the lore of it. It's like one=20
>>>of those great urban myths like 10 foot long alligators in the NY=20
>>>sewer system...
>>>
>>>I know because I circulated a similar virus alert to the people on=20
>>>our LAN only to be informed by my (now smirking) MIS manager that I=20
>>>was the n'th victim of the joke...
>>
>>Judy
>>
>>---
>>Judith M. Bird
>>tel: (514)487-0559; fax: (514)487-0625
>>email: jbird@accent.net
>>---------------------------------------------------------------
>>| inTeger/acTif |
>>| Information Technology Education Group |
>>| Associ=E9s-conseil Technologies de l'information et formation |
>>| Toronto * Montreal http://www.inforamp.net/~mfelsky/ |
>>---------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>------------------------------
>>
>>End of CALL-L Digest - 31 Jul 1996 to 1 Aug 1996
>>************************************************
>>
>
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