[11914] in APO-L
virus hoax
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (mcdonald@ASTRON.MIT.EDU)
Fri Apr 14 13:52:48 1995
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 1995 13:53:10 -0400
Reply-To: mcdonald@ASTRON.MIT.EDU
From: mcdonald@ASTRON.MIT.EDU
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L@VM.CC.PURDUE.EDU>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 14 Apr 95 12:22:23 EDT."
<9504141653.AA22863@MIT.EDU>
The warning about a "Good Times" virus is a hoax, and a chain letter.
Please beware of rumors like this. Email is a great medium for
spreading rumors far and wide, often faster and better than the
denials.
There are official organizations which track, identify, and
report viruses and security problems, notably the 'CIAC', and 'CERT'.
They have regular channels used to report real problems they identify.
It is not necessary to forward email reports of virus such as this.
Here is an extract from CIAC Notes 94-04, distributed December 6, 1994,
regarding the supposed "Good Times" virus.
-----------
THIS IS A HOAX. Upon investigation, CIAC has determined that this message
originated from both a user of America Online and a student at a university
at approximately the same time, and it was meant to be a hoax.
CIAC has also seen other variations of this hoax, the main one is that any
electronic mail message with the subject line of "xxx-1" will infect your
computer.
-----------
Please do not forward chain letters, even ones claiming to be important
warnings, over the internet.
YIL
Steve McDonald
mcdonald@mit.edu
