Virus????

[Bryce Cramer]

Here are a few things people should know about this supposed virus.

First, it is impossible for a virus to travel through e-mail.  A virus, by
nature, can only exist as an executable file.  E-mail files are not
executable and therefore cannot contain a virus.

Secondly, there is not such thing as an ASCII buffer.

Third, their are no e-mail addresses for the original senders of this
message - there are only abbreviated names.  This makes me skeptical.

Before the entire nation goes into a frenzy, I though some people might
be interested in these observations.  If I am wrong about this then
excuse me but I don't thing I am.

Always practice safe computing but be skeptical about this particular
virus warning.


On Wed, 31 Jan 1996, suzanne fleischman wrote:

> >Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 13:30:43 GMT
> >From: Teresa Bridgeman <T.M.Bridgeman at bristol.ac.uk>
> >Subject: FW: Virus warning (fwd)
> >To: Fleischman <suzanne at garnet.berkeley.edu>
> >Priority: Normal
> >Read-Receipt-To: Teresa Bridgeman <fhtmb at mail.bris.ac.uk>
> >Delivery-Receipt-To: Teresa Bridgeman <fhtmb at mail.bris.ac.uk>
> >Return-Receipt-To: Teresa Bridgeman <fhtmb at mail.bris.ac.uk>
> >
> >
> >Forwarded Message:
> >From: Dee Reynolds <D.A.Reynolds at bristol.ac.uk>
> >Date: Tue, 30 Jan 1996 20:30:33 GMT
> >Subject: FW: Virus warning (fwd)
> >To: fh-staff at bristol.ac.uk
> >
> >
> >Forwarded Message:
> >From: Pumfrey S <S.Pumfrey at lancaster.ac.uk>
> >Date: Tue, 30 Jan 96 15:11:00 GMT
> >Subject: FW: Virus warning
> >To: Dee Reynolds <D.A.Reynolds at bristol.ac.uk>
> >
> >
> >
> > ----------
> >From: Bliss R
> >To: HARMAN P; Winchester A; Evans E; O'neill G; Brooke J; Walton J; Cross J;
> >Stringer K; Blinkhorn R; Heale M; Mullett M; Winstanley M; Palladino P;
> >Henig R; Smith R o g e r; Constantine S; Barber S; Pumfrey S; MUNBY J
> >Subject: FW: Virus warning
> >Date: 30 January 1996 14:34
> >
> >
> > ----------
> >From: Clements J
> >To: Armitage S
> >Cc: Ashcroft K; Bird K; Gardner M M; Collins R; Wareham T; Coleman R; Clark
> >W; Mcenery A; Bliss R; Kirby M; Borlase R; G.Inkster
> >Subject: FW: Virus warning
> >Date:  30 January 1996 14:10
> >
> >
> > ----------
> >From: Lindsay M
> >To: Glass B; Bland D; Lindsay R; Brennan S; Reed C; Thomson A; Clements J;
> >Dawson D; Widden M; SAUNDERS I J; Edmonds M; Elliott P
> >Subject: FW: Virus warning
> >Date: 30 January 1996 12:12
> >
> >
> > ----------
> >From: Hands H
> >To: Lindsay M; WORTHINGTON C; COHAN A; DENVER D; HOPFL H; KING P;
> >Travers D;
> >Worthington M; Wilkin P; GARETH DAVIES; Ms H Willes; I Bellany
> >Subject: RE: Virus warning
> >Date: 30 January 1996 10:53
> >
> >> Andrew Sayer sent me the following virus warning, which has
> >> been circulated round Sociology.
> >>
> >> >>   SUBJECT:  VIRUSES--IMPORTANT PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY
> >> >>
> >> >>>>>>       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.
> >> >>>>>>> ---- End of mail text
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>