CIAC Malicious Code Hoax Warnings

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" I'll lean on you and you lean on me and we'll be okay. " Dave s

Malicious Code Warnings

This document contains the original hoax warnings that describe the terrible

things that some malicious code will do to you. All of these are fake.

Malicious Code Warnings

- PKZ300

- Irina

- Good Times

- Good Times Spoof

- Deeyenda

- Ghost

- PENPAL GREETINGS!

- Make Money Fast

- NaughtyRobot

- Join the Crew

- Death Ray

- A.I.D.S. Hoax

- Bud Frogs Screen Saver

- Bug's Life Screen Saver

- AOL4FREE

- AOL V4.0 Cookie

- Blue Mountain Cards

- Takes Guts to Say Jesus Hoax

- Elf Bowling and Frogapult Hoax Chain Letter

- 2400 Baud Modem Virus

- 2400 Baud Modem Virus spoof

- Make Money Fast

- America Online Upgrade

- WIN A HOLIDAY

- Cat Colonic Hoax

- Mobile Phone Virus Hoax

- Wobbler and California Virus Hoax

- Lump of Coal Virus Hoax

- BUDDYLST.SIP Virus Hoax

- Family Pictures Hoax

- WTC Survivor Virus Hoax

- intifadah.cjb.net Hoax

- SULFNBK.EXE Hoax

- Virtual Card Hoax

- !000 Hoax

PKZ300 Warning

The PKZ300 Trojan is a real Trojan program, but the initial warning about it was

released over a year ago. For information pertaining to PKZ300 Trojan reference CIAC Notes issue 95-10, at

http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/notes/Notes10.shtml that was released in June of 1995. The

warning itself, on the other hand, is gaining urban legend status. There has been an

extremely limited number of sightings of this Trojan and those appeared over a year ago.

Even though the Trojan warning is real, the repeated circulation of the warning is a

nuisance. Individuals who need the current release of PKZIP should visit the PKWare web page at http://www.pkware.com. CIAC recommends

that you DO NOT recirculate the warning about this particular Trojan.

The following is the true warning about PKZ300 from the PKWare web site:

!!! PKZIP Trojan Horse Version - (Originally Posted May 1995) !!!

It has come to the attention of PKWARE that a fake version of PKZIP is being

distributed as PKZ300B.ZIP or PKZ300.ZIP. It is not an offical version from

PKWARE and it will attempt to erase your hard drive if run. It attempts to

perform a deletion of all the directories of your current drive. If you have

any information as to the creators of this trojan horse, PKWARE would be

extremely interested to hear from you. If you have any other questions about

this fake version, please e-mail support@...

Irina Virus Hoax

The " Irina " virus warnings are a hoax. The former head of an electronic

publishing company circulated the warning to create publicity for a new interactive book

by the same name. The publishing company has apologized for the publicity stunt that

backfired and panicked Internet users worldwide. The original warning claimed to be from a

Professor Pridedaux of the College of Slavic Studies in London; there is no such

person or college. However, London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies has been

inundated with calls. This poorly thought-out publicity stunt was highly irresponsible.

For more information pertaining to this hoax, reference the UK Daily Telegraph at http://www.telegraph.co.uk.

The original hoax message is as follows:

FYI

There is a computer virus that is being sent across the Internet.

If you receive an e-mail message with the subject line " Irina " , DONOT

read the message. DELETE it immediately.

Some miscreant is sending people files under the title " Irina " . If

you receive this mail or file, do not download it. 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.

( Information received from the Professor Prideaux, College of

Slavonic Studies, London ).

Good Times Virus Hoax

The " Good Times " virus warnings are a hoax. There is no virus by that name in

existence today. These warnings have been circulating the Internet for years. The user

community must become aware that it is unlikely that a virus can be constructed to behave

in the manner ascribed in the " Good Times " virus warning.

CIAC first described the Good Times Hoax in CIAC NOTES 94-04c released in

December 1994 and described it again in CIAC NOTES 95-09 in April 1995.

More information is in the Good_Times

FAQ (http://www.public.usit.net/lesjones/goodtimes.html) written by Les .

The original " Good Times " message that was posted and circulated in November

and December of 1994 contained the following warning:

Here is some important information. Beware of a file called Goodtimes.

Happy Chanukah everyone, and be careful out there. There is a virus on

America Online being sent by E-Mail. If you get anything called " Good Times " ,

DON'T read it or download it. It is a virus that will erase your hard drive.

Forward this to all your friends. It may help them a lot.

Soon after the release of CIAC NOTES 04, another " Good Times " message was

circulated. This is the same message that is being circulated during this recent

" Good Times " rebirth. This message includes a claim that the Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) released a warning about the danger of the " Good

Times " virus, but the FCC did not and will not ever issue a virus warning. It is not

their job to do so. See the FCC

Public Notice 5036. The following is the expanded " Good Times " hoax message:

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 unparalleled in its destructive capability. Other,

more well-known viruses such as Stoned, Airwolf, and angelo

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.

Good Times Spoof

The following spoof of the good times hoax is too well done not to include here. We

believe this was written by J Rothfuss; if this is incorrect, we apologize to the

true author.

December 1996

READ THIS:

Goodtimes will re-write your hard drive. Not only that, but

it will scramble any disks that are even close to your computer. It

will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice

cream goes melty. It will demagnetize the strips on all your credit

cards, screw up the tracking on your television and use subspace field

harmonics to scratch any CD's you try to play.

It will give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number. It

will mix Kool-aid into your fishtank. It will drink all your beer and

leave its socks out on the coffee table when there's company coming

over. It will put a dead kitten in the back pocket of your good suit

pants and hide your car keys when you are late for work.

Goodtimes will make you fall in love with a penguin. It will

give you nightmares about circus midgets. It will pour sugar in your

gas tank and shave off both your eyebrows while dating your

girlfriend behind your back and billing the dinner and hotel room to

your Discover card.

It will seduce your grandmother. It does not matter if she

is dead, such is the power of Goodtimes, it reaches out beyond the

grave to sully those things we hold most dear.

It moves your car randomly around parking lots so you can't

find it. It will kick your dog. It will leave libidinous messages on

your boss's voice mail in your voice! It is insidious and subtle. It

is dangerous and terrifying to behold. It is also a rather

interesting shade of mauve.

Goodtimes will give you Dutch Elm disease. It will leave the

toilet seat up. It will make a batch of Methanphedime in your bathtub

and then leave bacon cooking on the stove while it goes out to chase

gradeschoolers with your new snowblower.

Listen to me. Goodtimes does not exist.

It cannot do anything to you. But I can. I am sending this

message to everyone in the world. Tell your friends, tell your

family. If anyone else sends me another E-mail about this fake

Goodtimes Virus, I will turn hating them into a religion. I will do

things to them that would make a horsehead in your bed look like

Easter Sunday brunch.

So there, take that Good Times.

Deeyenda Virus Hoax

The following " Deeyenda " virus warning is a hoax. CIAC has received inqueries

regarding the validity of the Deeyenda virus. The warnings are very similar to those for

Good Times, stating that the FCC issued a warning about it, and that it is self activating

and can destroy the contents of a machine just by being downloaded. Users should note that

the FCC does not and will not issue virus or Trojan warnings. It is not their job to do

so. As of this date, there are no known viruses with the name Deeyenda in existence. For a

virus to spread, it must be executed. Reading a text mail message does not execute the

mail message. Trojans and viruses have been found as executable attachments to mail

messages, but they must be extracted and executed to do any harm. The newer html formatted

mail readers are a potential problem in that anything that can be run on a web page can

now be sent as the content of an e-mail message. Potentially damaging content includes

axtive-x controls, JavaScript and VBScript applets, and Java applications. As with viewing

web pages, you must be careful what you allow to run when you view html formatted e-mail

messages. Be sure to set your web security to not let unsafe applications to run without

at least asking you first.

**********VIRUS ALERT**********

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ!

There is a computer virus that is being sent across the Internet. If

you receive an email message with the subject line " Deeyenda " , DO NOT

read the message, DELETE it immediately!

Some miscreant is sending email under the title " Deeyenda " nationwide,

if you get anything like this DON'T DOWNLOAD THE FILE! It has a virus

that rewrites your hard drive, obliterates anything on it. Please be

careful and forward this e-mail to anyone you care about.

Please read the message below.

-----------

FCC WARNING!!!!! -----DEEYENDA PLAGUES INTERNET

The Internet community has again been plagued by another computer

virus. This message is being spread throughout the Internet, including

USENET posting, EMAIL, and other Internet activities. The reason for

all the attention is because of the nature of this virus and the

potential security risk it makes. Instead of a destructive Trojan

virus (like most viruses!), this virus referred to as Deeyenda Maddick,

performs a comprehensive search on your computer, looking for valuable

information, such as email and login passwords, credit cards, personal

inf., etc.

The Deeyenda virus also has the capability to stay memory resident

while running a host of applications and operation systems, such as

Windows 3.11 and Windows 95. What this means to Internet users is that

when a login and password are send to the server, this virus can copy

this information and SEND IT OUT TO UN UNKNOWN ADDRESS (varies).

The reason for this warning is because the Deeyenda virus is virtually

undetectable. Once attacked your computer will be unsecure. Although

it can attack any O/S this virus is most likely to attack those users

viewing Java enhanced Web Pages (Netscape 2.0+ and Microsoft Internet

Explorer 3.0+ which are running under Windows 95). Researchers at

Princeton University have found this virus on a number of World Wide

Web pagesand fear its spread.

Please pass this on, for we must alert the general public at the

security risks.

Ghost.exe Warning

The Ghost.exe program was originally distributed as a free screen saver containing some

advertising information for the author's company (Access Softek). The program opens a

window that shows a Halloween background with ghosts flying around the screen. On any

Friday the 13th, the program window title changes and the ghosts fly off the window and

around the screen. Someone apparently got worried and sent a message indicating that this

might be a Trojan. The warning grew until the it said that Ghost.exe was a Trojan that

would destroy your hard drive and the developers got a lot of nasty phone calls (their

names and phone numbers were in the About box of the program.) A simple phone call to the

number listed in the program would have stopped this warning from being sent out. The

original ghost.exe program is just cute; it does not do anything damaging. Note that this

does not mean that ghost could not be infected with a virus that does do damage, so the

normal virus procedure of scanning it before running it should be followed.

PENPAL GREETINGS! Warning Hoax

The PENPAL GREETINGS! Hoax shown below appears to be an attempt to kill an e-mail chain

letter by claiming that it is a self starting Trojan that destroys your hard drive and

then sends copies of itself to everyone whose address in in your mailbox. Aside from the

fact that a program cannot start itself, the Trojan would also have to know about every

different kind of e-mail program to be able to forward copies of itself to other people.

This warning is totally a hoax.

FYI!

Subject: Virus Alert

Importance: High

If anyone receives mail entitled: PENPAL GREETINGS! please delete it WITHOUT

reading it. Below is a little explanation of the message, and what it would

do to your PC if you were to read the message. If you have any questions or

concerns please contact SAF-IA Info Office on 697-5059.

This is a warning for all internet users - there is a dangerous virus

propogating across the internet through an e-mail message entitled " PENPAL

GREETINGS! " .

DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY MESSAGE ENTITLED " PENPAL GREETINGS! "

This message appears to be a friendly letter asking you if you are

interestedin a penpal, but by the time you read this letter, it is too late.

The " trojan horse " virus will have already infected the boot sector of your hard

drive, destroying all of the data present. It is a self-replicating virus,

and once the message is read, it will AUTOMATICALLY forward itself to anyone

who's e-mail address is present in YOUR mailbox!

This virus will DESTROY your hard drive, and holds the potential to DESTROY

the hard drive of anyone whose mail is in your inbox, and who's mail is in

their inbox, and so on. If this virus remains unchecked, it has the potential

to do a great deal of DAMAGE to computer networks worldwide!!!!

Please, delete the message entitled " PENPAL GREETINGS! " as soon as you see it!

And pass this message along to all of your friends and relatives, and the

other readers of the newsgroups and mailing lists which you are on, so that

they are not hurt by this dangerous virus!!!!

Make Money Fast Hoax Warning

The Make Money Fast Warning is similar to the Good Times and PENPAL GREETINGS! hoaxes,

but appears to be a warning message that is attempting to kill the Make Money Fast

e-mail chain letter.

While laudable in its intent, the warning has caused as much or more problems than the

chain letter it is attempting to kill.

******VIRUS ALERT****** ******VIRUS ALERT****** ******VIRUS ALERT******

There is NEW VIRUS rapidly affecting computers on the internet. This new

virus is insidious, in that it transmitted as a USENET message. Usenet is

the " news group " area on the internet that users can openly discuss and

exchange information on a wide variety of topics.

What makes this virus DOUBLY DANGEROUS, is that it is disguised as a common

chain letter. Chain letters have been passed across usenet almost since

it's beginning. Lately, a common chain letter subject is MAKE MONEY FAST.

The Make Money Fast (MMF) chain is read by thousands of people daily. It is

also known as: " Easy Cash " , " Make Cash Fast " , " Turn 5$ into $50,000 " and

many others. They are all basically the same scheme, in which the reader

send $1 to each of the 5 people at the bottom of the list, then moves his

name onto the list.

The MMF Virus, as it has been doubed, rides along on these chain letters as

a " hidden binary attachment " . Since most news reader programs (computer

programs used to read USENET messages) will automatically decode and store

binary attachments, there is NO SAFE WAY to protect yourself from infection.

The virus attackes your system the next time you run your news reader.

Though the virus is transmitted during a normal usenet session, your NEXT

usenet session will probably be your last for a while. As a hidden

attachment, it is automatically activated with your news reader, and very

quickly destroys your partition table. Generally, this is not even noticed

until the next time you try to run ANY program.

The next thing the virus does is to place your micro processor into an

nth-complexity infinate binary loop, quickly destroying it. This will

appear at first as a normal " lock-up " but will quickley wipe out the

delicate circuitry in your system.

The people that run usenet, at: news.admin.net-abusers are working night

and day on a cure. Perhaps some day an automatic process will be able

to detect the MMF Virus in usenet messages and cancel them, but that is some

time off.

At this point, your ONLY hope is to NOT DOWNLOAD ANY MESSAGES that have a

subject similar to above. Please, FORWARD this message to ANYONE you know

that reads usenet news.

Thank you,

News.Admin.Net-Abusers

The warning appears to be attempting to kill the following e-mail message that came

with the Subject: Make Money Fast, that describes how to start an illegal pyramid scheme

on the Internet.

Hello! I've got some awesome news that I think you need to take two

minutes to read if you have ever thought " How could I make some

serious cash in a hurry??? " , or been in serious debt, ready to do

almost anything to get the money needed to pay off those bill

collectors. So grab a snack, a warm cup of coffee, or a glass of your

favorite beverage, get comfortable and listen to this interesting,

exciting find!

Let me start by saying that I FINALLY FOUND IT! That's right!.

found it! And I HATE GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES!! I hate those schemes

like multi-level marketing, mail-order schemes, envelope stuffing

scams, 900 number scams... the list goes on forever. I have tried

every darn get rich quick scheme out there over the past 12 years. I

somehow got on mailing lists for people looking to make money (more

like 'desperate stupid people who will try anything for money!').

.

.

.

.

.

[For the completion of the Make Money Fast chain letter, reference the

Make Money Fast Page.]

NaughtyRobot

Quite a few Web site administrators have received email messages that seem to be

originating from the same machine hosting the Web site. The email headers are apparently

being forged to hide the original sender of the message. The mail being received contains

the following:

Subject: security breached by NaughtyRobot

This message was sent to you by NaughtyRobot, an Internet spider that

crawls into your server through a tiny hole in the World Wide Web.

NaughtyRobot exploits a security bug in HTTP and has visited your host

system to collect personal, private, and sensitive information.

It has captured your Email and physical addresses, as well as your phone

and credit card numbers. To protect yourself against the misuse of this

information, do the following:

1. alert your server SysOp,

2. contact your local police,

3. disconnect your telephone, and

4. report your credit cards as lost.

Act at once. Remember: only YOU can prevent DATA fires.

This has been a public service announcement from the makers of

NaughtyRobot -- CarJacking its way onto the Information SuperHighway.

The NaughtyRobot email message appears to be a hoax. There is no indication that any of

the problems described in the body have taken place on any machine.

Join the Crew

Circulating the Internet is an email message entitled " Join the Crew " . For a

virus to spread, it must be executed. Reading a mail message does not execute the mail

message. Trojans and viruses have been found as executable attachments to mail messages,

but they must be extracted and executed to do any harm.

IMPORTANT - VIRUS Alert!!!

Take note !

Someone got an email, titled as JOIN THE CREW.

It has erased his hard drive.

Do not open up any mail that has this title.

It will erase your whole hard drive.

This is a new email virus and not a lot of people know about it,

just let everyone know, so they won't be a victim.

Please e-mail this to everyone you know!!!

Remember the title : JOIN THE CREW

Variants of this email message are circulating the Internet. If you receive an email

message entitled " Join the Crew " and it has an attachment, CIAC recommends that

you delete the message and the attachment. If you receive just the message, delete the

message. Please DO NOT circulate unvalidated virus alerts.

Death Ray

The Death Ray Virus is a hoax. The following " Death Ray Virus " warning was

reported in the Weekly World News and other publications. CIAC knows of no virus or any

computer program for that matter that has caused physical damage to a computer or cause it

to explode. The only systems we know about where software could cause hardware damage are

some of the original IBM PCs where the video card could be switched to handle the wrong

monitor type which damaged the input circuits of the monitor. No explosion was invloved,

only non-working electronics.

A deadly new computer virus that actually causes home computers to explode

in a hellish blast of glass fragments and flame has injured at least 47

people since August 15, horrifying authorities who say millions of people

are risking injury, blindness or death every time they sit down to work at

their PC!

" Computer viruses of the past could disable your computer, but this virus

goes a step further -- and can kill you, " declared Heriden, a

computer expert who specializes in identifying computer viruses. " This

virus doesn't carry the usual 'markers' that enable it to be detected.

It slips through the cracks, so to speak.

" It is an extremely complicated process. But suffice it to say that the

virus affects the computer's hardware, creating conditions that lead

to dangerous short circuits and power surges. The end result?

Explosions -- powerful explosions. And millions of Internet users are

at risk. "

The virus, nicknamed Death Ray by experts like Heriden, surfaced in England

on August 1. A 24-year-old college student was permanently blinded

when his 15-inch color monitor exploded in his face.

" So how do you protect yourself? I wish I knew, " said Heriden. " You

either stop using the Internet or you take your chances until we can

get a handle on this thing and get rid of it for good.

The A.I.D.S. Hoax

Circulating the Internet is an email message warning about an A.I.D.S. virus that

destroys your computer. This warning is a hoax.

There are actually several real AIDS viruses and Trojan horses, but this warning

message does not describe any of them.

This particular warning message (shown below) indicates that the virus comes in an

e-mail message. While a virus may be in an attachment to an e-mail message, reading that

message with a standard, text based, mail reader cannot execute a virus. A virus in an

attachment cannot do anything until that attachment is executed, or in the case of a Word

macro virus, the attached Word document is opened in Word. For this reason, CIAC

recommends that you scan all executable programs and Word documents that were sent as

attachments to e-mail messages before running or editing them.

The warning claims the virus destroys your actual hardware, such as memory, mouse, key

board, and hard drive, all of which is impossible. Also notice that the author has not

signed the message or given you any way to authenticate it, which is another strong

indication of a hoax.

THEREE IS A VIRUS GOING AROUND CALLED THE A.I.D.S VIRUS. IT WILL ATTACH

ITSELF INSIDE YOUR COMPUTER AND EAT AWAY AT YOUR MEMORY THIS MEMORY IS

IRREPLACEABLE. THEN WHEN IT'S FINISHED WITH MEMORY IT INFECTS YOUR MOUSE

OR POINTING DEVICE. THEN IT GOES TO YOUR KEY BOARD AND THE LETTERS YOU

TYPE WILLNOT REGISTER ON SCREEN. BEFORE IT SELF TERMINATES IT EATS 5MB OF

HARD DRIVE SPACE AND WILL DELETE ALL PROGRAMS ON IT AND IT CAN SHUT DOWN

ANY 8 BIT TO 16 BIT SOUND CARDS RENDERING YOUR SPEAKERS USELESS. IT WILL

COME IN E-MAIL CALLED " OPEN:VERY COOL! DELETE IT RIGHT AWAY. THIS

VIRUS WILL BASICLY RENDER YOUR COMPUTER USELESS. YOU MUST PASS THIS ON

QUICKLY AND TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSLE!!!!! YOU MUST!

Bud Frogs Screen Saver

January 1997

While the original screensaver is a legitimate program, take care if you get a copy

from a third party as it may have been infected with a virus between when it was released

and when you get it. It could also be replaced with a Trojan program by simply changing

the Trojan's name. As with any file, you should never run code from unknown sources

because you run the risk of running a virus or Trojan Horse. Try to get your codes from

the original site and scan them with antivirus software just to be sure they are not

infected.

DANGER!!! VIRUS ALERT!!!

THIS IS A NEW TWIST. SOME CREEPOID SCAM-ARTIST IS

SENDING OUT A VERY DESIRABLE SCREEN-SAVER (THE BUD

FROGS). BUT IF YOU DOWN-LOAD IT, YOU'LL LOSE

EVERYTHING!!!!! YOUR HARD DRIVE WILL CRASH!!

DON'T DOWNLOAD THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!

IT JUST WENT INTO CIRCULATION YESTERDAY, AS FAR AS

WE KNOW....BE CAREFUL.

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE...THANX

BELOW IS WHAT THE SCREENSAVER PROGGIE WOULD LOOK LIKE!

File: BUDSAVER.EXE (24643 bytes)

DL Time (28800 bps): <1 minute

Bug's Life Screen Saver

May 1999

Another screen saver that is supposed to be a Trojan program. There is no such Trojan

or virus; this is a hoax. There are Trojan programs out there but this is not one of them.

To insure you have a good copy of any downloaded program, be sure to get it from the

original site and not from a third party where it might have been infected with a virus.

Subject: FW: Another Virus !!!!!!

Someone is sending out a very desirable screen-saver, a

Bug's Life - " BUGGLST.ZIP " . If you download it, you will

lose everything!!! Your hard drive will crash and someone

from the Internet will get your screen name and password!

DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! IT JUST

WENT INTO circulation yesterday, as far as we know. Please

distribute/inform this message. This is a new, very malicious

virus and not many people know about it. This information

was announced yesterday morning from Microsoft. Please share

it with everyone that might access the Internet. Once again,

pass this along to EVERYONE in your address book so that

this may be stopped

AOL V4.0 Cookie

AOL has declared the AOL V4.0 Cookie chain letter a hoax. CIAC received the following

statement from AOL: " I wish to bring to your attention the attached hoax letter that

has been circulating on the Internet, making serious allegations about AOL 4.0. All of

these allegations are false. " Tatiana Gau, Vice President of AOL Integrity Assurance.

From a former AOL employee:

I'll try and cut through the crap, and try to get to the point of this

letter.

I used to work for America Online, and would like to remain

anonymous for that reason. I was laid off in early September, but I know

exactly why I was laid off, which I will now explain:

Since last December, I had been one of the many people assigned to design

AOL 4.0 for Windows (AOL 4.0 beta, codenamed Casablanca). In the beginning,

I was very proud of this task, until I found out the true cost of it. Things

were going fine until about mid-February, when me and 2 of my colleagues

started to suspect a problem, an unexplainable 'Privacy Invasion', with the

new version. One of them, who is a master programmer, copied the finished

portion of the new version (Then 'Build 52'), and took it home, and we spent

nearly 2 weeks of sleepless nights examining and debugging the program,

flipping it inside-out, and here is what we found.

Unlike all previous versions of America Online, version 4.0 puts

something in your hard drive called a 'cookie'. (AOL members click here for a definition).

However, the cookie we found on Version 4.0 was far more treacherous than

the simple Internet cookie. How would you like somebody looking at your

entire hard drive, snooping through any (yes, any) piece of information on

your hard drive. It could also read your password and log in information and

store it deep in the program code. Well, all previous versions,

whether you like it or not, have done this to a certain extent, but

only with files you downloaded. As me and my colleagues discovered,

with the new version, anytime you are signed on to AOL, any top

AOL executive, any AOL worker, who has been sworn to secrecy regarding this

feature, can go in to your hard drive and retrieve any piece of information

that they so desire. Billing, download records, e-mail, directories,

personal documents, programs, financial information, scanned images, etc.

Better start keeping all those pictures on a floppy disk!

This is a totally disgusting violation of our rights, and your right to

know as well. Since this is undoubtedly 'Top Secret' information that I am

revealing, my life at AOL is pretty much over. After discovering this inform

attain, we started to inform a few other workers at America Online, so that

we could get a large enough crew to stop this from happening to the millions

of unfortunate and unsuspecting America Online members. This was in early

August. One month later, all three of us were unemployed. We got together,

and figured there was something we had to do to let the public know.

Unemployed, with one of us going through a divorce (me) and another who is

about to undergo treatment for Cancer, our combined financial situation is

not currently enough to release any sort or article. We attempted to create

a web page on three different servers containing in-depth information on AOL

4.0, but all three were taken down within 2 days. We were running very low

on time (4.0 is released early this winter), so we figured our last hope to

reveal this madness before it effects the people was starting something

similar to a chain letter, this letter you are reading. Please do the

following, to help us expose AOL for who they really are, and to help us and

yourself receive personal gratification for taking a stand for our freedom:

1. Forward this letter to as many people as you can (not just friends and

family, as many as you can)!

2. Tell people who aren't on America Online in person, especially

important people (Private Investigators, Government workers, City Council)

3. If the information about the new version isn't exposed by the time AOL

is released early this winter, for your own protection, DON'T DOWNLOAD AOL

4.0 UNDER ANY CONDITION !!!

Thank you for reading and examining this information. Me and my colleagues

hope that you will help us do the right thing in this situation.

Enjoy America Online (just kidding!).

Regards, A former AOL employee

AOL4FREE

AOL4FREE actually consists of three separate, independent items:

The AOL4FREE Macintosh Program for gaining fraudulent accounts on AOL.

The AOL4FREE Virus Warning Hoax.

The AOL4FREE.COM Trojan horse program that deletes all the files on your

hard drive.

The AOL4FREE Macintosh Program was originally written to provide illegal free

access to America Online. In the March 1997 issue of the CSI Computer Security Alert

the following statement was made concerning the creator of that program:

" A former Yale computer science student has pleaded guilty to defrauding America

Online. AOL estimates it lost between $40,000 and $70,000 in service charges because the

student distributed his computer program, AOL4FREE, to hundreds of other users. "

Note that any attempt to use the original AOL4FREE program may subject you to

prosecution.

The second item is the AOL4FREE Virus Warning Hoax message. The following

message has been circulating around the Internet, warning of a virus infected e-mail

message:

VIRUS ALERT!!!

DON'T OPEN E-MAIL NOTING " AOL4FREE "

Anyone who receives this must send it to as many people as you can. It

is essential that this problem be reconciled as soon as possible. A few

hours ago, I opened an E-mail that had the subject heading of " AOL4FREE.COM " .

Within seconds of opening it, a window appeared and began to display my files

that were being deleted. I immediately shut down my computer, but it was too

late. This virus wiped me out. It ate the Anti-Virus Software that comes with

the Windows '95 Program along with F-Prot AVS. Neither was able to detect it.

Please be careful and send this to as many people as possible, so maybe this

new virus can be eliminated.

This message has several problems that identify it as a hoax.

A virus like program can not spread in an e-mail message. While an infected program

could be attached to an e-mail message, the e-mail message itself cannot contain one in

any form that could be executed.

A virus or Trojan horse program can not infect a system by simply being read. The

current mail readers do not execute an e-mail message, they display it on the screen for

you to read. You must take care when downloading an attachment to an e-mail message. In

some mail readers you can double click on the attachment icon to have it extracted and

opened by whatever program created it. If that attachment is a program, it is downloaded

and run, and running any program you have not scanned could cause you to be infected with

a virus.

While this warning message is a hoax, the things it describes could be accomplished with

a Trojan horse program. That Trojan horse could then be attached to an e-mail message and

if the reader downloads and executes the Trojan horse program, it could do the damage

described in this message. In fact, someone has done that as is explained below.

The third item is the AOL4FREE.COM Trojan Horse. This program appears to be the

AOL4FREE program that creates fraudulent AOL accounts (though it is a DOS program instead

of a Macintosh program) but is actually a simple compiled DOS batch file that runs the DOS

DELTREE command on the C:\ directory of a DOS/Windows machine. The DELTREE command deletes

all files in a directory, including the directory itself and any subdirectories in that

directory. The effect is to delete all files on the C: drive of a DOS/Windows machine. If

you should come across this program from any source, do not run it. For more information

see CIAC Bulletin H-47a:

AOL4FREE.COM Trojan Horse Program Destroys Hard Drives.

CIAC ALWAYS recommends that software downloaded onto a computer from any source (BBS,

e-mail attachment, floppy, web) be scanned with antivirus software prior to being run.

Note that most antivirus software does not detect Trojans, so it is important to know

where your software came from before executing it.

Blue Mountain Cards

March 1999

Recently Blue Mountain Cards was the target of false warnings that opening a greeting

card on their website would cause systems to crash. Below is a statement from the

Executive Director of Blue Mountain Cards.

Schutz, Executive Director

Blue Mountain Arts

" It is very frustrating and difficult for us to dispel these rumors, but

please help us in doing so by passing this email along to your friends and

spreading the word that there is no way that bluemountain.com can spread a

virus. Our electronic greeting cards are simply web pages that you view

with your browser. Our email notifications are only text messages without

any attached files. When someone sends or receives cards from our site,

they do not actually download to their computer any file that might contain

a virus. We are worried that these rumors are hurting our free card

efforts, and hope that you can help us set the record straight. "

http://www1.bluemountain.com/home/hoax.html

It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus'

April 1999

The original email titled " It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus' " is a poor rewrite of

several old hoaxes. Now that hoax has been rewritten as an aftermath of the ''

virus outbreak.

Here is the newest version circulating the internet.

If you receive an email titled " It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus' DO NOT

OPEN IT. It will erase everything on your hard drive. This

information was announced yesterday morning from IBM; AOL states that

this is a very dangerous virus, much worse than " " ,

and that there is NO remedy for it at this time. Some very sick individual

has succeeded in using the re-format function from Norton Utilities

causing it to completely erase all documents on the hard drive.It has

been designed to work with Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet

Explorer.It destroys MacIntosh and IBM compatible computers. This is a

new, very malicious virus and not many people know about it. Pass this

warning along to EVERYONE in your address book and please share it with

all your online friends ASAP so that this threat may be stopped. Please

practice cautionary measures and tell anyone that may have access to your

computer. Forward this warning to everyone that might access the

internet

Elf Bowling and Frogapult Hoax Chain Letter

December 1999

Nstorm (http://www.nstorm.com ) has become the victim of a hoax chain letter stating

that two of their games being distributed over the internet are infected with a virus. The

chain letter does not state what the malicious code is. Listed below is a statement from

Nick Schoeneberger of Nvision Design, Inc., the developer of the game. CIAC recommends

that you check with vendors or other reliable sources before forwarding warnings that may

be bogus.

" Our company has produced a number of freely emailed and downloadable computer

games which have been the subject of a hoax virus warning. We have contacted Symantec

(makers of Norton Anti-Virus) and they have certified all of our games virus-free on this

web page: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/y2kgame.hoax.html "

Keep in mind that while the games available from Nstorm's web page are virus free,

copies that are being e-mailed around the network could be infected with a virus or could

be a Trojan program with the same name as the original game. To be safe, you should never

run executables that are sent to you by an unknown/untrusted source but get an original

copy directly from the manufacturer's website or from a trusted downloading site.

2400 Baud Modem Virus

October 1988

Since 1988, computer virus hoaxes have been circulating the Internet. In October of

that year, according to Ferbrache ( " A pathology of Computer Viruses " Springer,

London, 1992) one of the first virus hoaxes was the 2400 baud modem virus:

SUBJ: Really Nasty Virus

AREA: GENERAL (1)

I've just discovered probably the world's worst computer virus

yet. I had just finished a late night session of BBS'ing and file

treading when I exited Telix 3 and attempted to run pkxarc to

unarc the software I had downloaded. Next thing I knew my hard

disk was seeking all over and it was apparently writing random

sectors. Thank god for strong coffee and a recent backup.

Everything was back to normal, so I called the BBS again and

downloaded a file. When I went to use ddir to list the directory,

my hard disk was getting trashed again. I tried Procomm Plus TD

and also PC Talk 3. Same results every time. Something was up so I

hooked up to my test equipment and different modems (I do research

and development for a local computer telecommunications company

and have an in-house lab at my disposal). After another hour of

corrupted hard drives I found what I think is the world's worst

computer virus yet. The virus distributes itself on the modem sub-

carrier present in all 2400 baud and up modems. The sub-carrier is

used for ROM and register debugging purposes only, and otherwise

serves no othr (sp) purpose. The virus sets a bit pattern in one

of the internal modem registers, but it seemed to screw up the

other registers on my USR. A modem that has been " infected " with

this virus will then transmit the virus to other modems that use a

subcarrier (I suppose those who use 300 and 1200 baud modems

should be immune). The virus then attaches itself to all binary

incoming data and infects the host computer's hard disk. The only

way to get rid of this virus is to completely reset all the modem

registers by hand, but I haven't found a way to vaccinate a modem

against the virus, but there is the possibility of building a

subcarrier filter. I am calling on a 1200 baud modem to enter this

message, and have advised the sysops of the two other boards

(names withheld). I don't know how this virus originated, but I'm

sure it is the work of someone in the computer telecommunications

field such as myself. Probably the best thing to do now is to

stick to 1200 baud until we figure this thing out.

Mike RoChenle

2400 Baud Modem Virus spoof

November 1988

The 2400 Baud Modem Virus spawned a humorous alert by

III :

Date: 11-31-88 (24:60) Number: 32769

To: ALL Refer#: NONE

From: ROBERT MORRIS III Read: (N/A)

Subj: VIRUS ALERT Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE

Warning: There's a new virus on the loose that's worse than

anything I've seen before! It gets in through the power line,

riding on the powerline 60 Hz subcarrier. It works by changing the

serial port pinouts, and by reversing the direction one's disks

spin. Over 300,000 systems have been hit by it here in ,

West Dakota alone! And that's just in the last 12 minutes.

It attacks DOS, Unix, TOPS-20, Apple-II, VMS, MVS, Multics, Mac,

RSX-11, ITS, TRS-80, and VHS systems.

To prevent the spresd of the worm:

1) Don't use the powerline.

2) Don't use batteries either, since there are rumors that this

virus has invaded most major battery plants and is infecting the

positive poles of the batteries. (You might try hooking up just

the negative pole.)

3) Don't upload or download files.

4) Don't store files on floppy disks or hard disks.

5) Don't read messages. Not even this one!

6) Don't use serial ports, modems, or phone lines.

7) Don't use keyboards, screens, or printers.

8) Don't use switches, CPUs, memories, microprocessors, or

mainframes.

9) Don't use electric lights, electric or gas heat or

airconditioning, running water, writing, fire, clothing or the

wheel.

I'm sure if we are all careful to follow these 9 easy steps, this

virus can be eradicated, and the precious electronic flui9ds of

our computers can be kept pure.

---RTM III

America Online Upgrade Warning

Circulating on the Internet is an e-mail message addressing an America Online 4.0

Upgrade. You should never receive an AOL upgrade via e-mail because according to America

Online: " AOL does not circulate ANYTHING to customers by way of e-mail with attached

files. All AOL software is distributed through keyworded download areas on the

service. " The following is the e-mail message being circulated:

Attention Friends

Another scam on the lurch on the AOL net.... BEWARE !!!!!!

If you receive an e-mail that is titled " Fwd: America Online 4.0

Upgrade " or has an attached file called " Setup40.exe " Do not download

the program it is NOT Aol 4.0 it is a program that will e-mail your

SCREEN NAME and your PASSWORD to two or more people during two blackouts

of your computer screen. DO NOT DOWNLOAD DELETE IT!!!

Please E-Mail this letter to as many people as possible to avoid

damage....thanks !!!

WIN A HOLIDAY Hoax

Circulating the Internet is e-mail messages entitle " WIN A HOLIDAY " . These

e-mail messages are a hoax and the false warning of a malicious e-mail does not exist.

There is currently no virus that has the characteristic described in the message. The

message is a variant of the " Join the Crew " hoax and another variant called

" JUST WIN A HOLIDAY " . CIAC recommends that you DO NOT pass the message to

others.

VIRUS WARNING !!!!!!

If you receive an email titled " WIN A HOLIDAY " DO NOT open it. It

will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward this letter out

as many people as you can. This is a new, very malicious virus and

not many people know about it. This information was announced

yesterday morning from Microsoft; please share it with everyone

that might access the Internet. Once again, pass this along to

EVERYONE in our address book so that this may be stopped. Also, do

not open or even look at any mail that says " RETURNED OR UNABLE TO

DELIVER " This virus will attach itself to your computer components

and render them useless. Immediately delete any mail items that

say this. AOL has said that this is a very dangerous virus and

that there is NO remedy for it at this time. Please practice

cautionary measures and forward this to all your online friends

ASAP.

Cat Colonic Hoax

May 1999

Why would you want to give a cat a colonic anyway. This is a hoax.

If you receive an e-mail entitled, " How to Give a Cat a Colonic, " DO NOT

open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward this letter

out to as many people as you can. This is a new, very malicious virus and

not many people know about it. This information was announced yesterday

morning from IBM. Please share it with everyone that might access the

Internet. Once again, pass this along to EVERYONE in your address book

so that this may be stopped. AOL has said that this is a very dangerous

virus and that there is NO remedy for it at this time.

Mobile Phone Virus Hoax

May 1999

And now a virus that attacks a mobile phone just by dialing in and listening.

Subject: GSM mobile phones Virus!

Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 10:39:00 -0400

BEWARE!!!

Dear all mobile phone's owners,

ATTENTION!!!

NOW THERE IS A VIRUS ON MOBILE PHONE SYSTEM.

All mobile phone in DIGITAL system can be infected by this virus. If

you receive a phone call and your phone display " UNAVAILABLE " on the

screen (for most of digital mobile phones with a function to display

in-coming call telephone number), DON'T ANSWER THE CALL. END THE CALL

IMMEDIATELY!!! BECAUSE IF YOU ANSWER THE CALL, YOUR PHONE WILL BE INFECTED

BY THIS VIRUS.

This virus will erase all IMIE and IMSI information from both your phone

and your SIM card which will make your phone unable to connect with the

telephone network. You will have to buy a new phone.

This information has been confirmed by both Motorola and Nokia. For

more information, please visit Motorola or Nokia web sites:

http://www.mot.comor http://www.nokia.com There are over 3 million

mobile phone being infected by this virus in USA now. You can also

check this news in CNN web site: http://www.cnn.com

Please forward this information to all your friends who have digital mobile

phones.

Wobbler and California Virus Hoax

May 1999

The Wobbler virus was supposed to be in a file named California. Both the virus and the

file are a hoax. There is a report from

IBM on Wobbler but like this page, it says that wobbler is a hoax.

Subject: FW: New Virus Warning

Dear ALL

Thought you might be interested in this message. If you receive an email

with a file called " California " do not open the file. The file

contains the " WOBBLER " virus.

This information was announced yesterday morning by IBM. The report says

... " this is a very dangerous virus, much worse than " "

and there is NO remedy for it at this time. Some very sick individual

has succeeded in using the reformat function from Norton Utilities

causing it to completely erase all documents on the hard drive. It has

been designed to work with Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet

Explorer. destroys Macintosh and IBM compatible computers. This is a

new, very malicious virus and not many people know about it at this

time. Please pass this warning to everyone in your address book and share

it all your online friends asap so that the destruction it can cause

may be minimized "

All the best

Dan

And a French Version.

Dans le cas ou l'information suivante puisse vous servir un jour je vous la

transmet.

J'ai été informe par mail d'un nouveau virus-WOBBLER. Il est transmis par un

mail intitule CALIFORNIA. IBM et AOL ont annonce qu'il serait très puissant,

encore plus que (connaît pas pour ma part!), et il n'y a pas de

remède (plus embêtant!). Il dévorerait toutes les informations situées sur

votre disque dur et détruirait également Netscape Navigator et Microsoft

Internet Explorer. N'ouvrez pas de mail intitule ainsi et transmettez ce

message a tous vos contacts.

Lump of Coal Virus Hoax

September 1999

Whomever wrote the Lump of Coal hoax should get some lumps for starting this around.

Warning on December 25, 1999 you may receive an email called, Lump of

Coal...do not open it, it contains a deadly virus...it will erase your

windows along with many other program files. Pass this on as soon as

you can to get the WORD out!!! This is not a hoax....this was reported

on the CBS morning news August 20,1999

BUDDYLST.SIP Virus Hoax

October 1999

The BUDDYLST hoax even comes in French.

Objet: Fw: Danger - Virus - Danger

This is not a joke

This information came from Microsoft.

Please pass it on to anyone you know who has access to the Internet.

You may receive an apparently harmless Budweiser screen saver,

entitled BUDDYLST.SIP.

If you do -DO NOT OPEN IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES,

but delete it immediately.

Once opened, you will lose EVERYTHING on your PC.

Your hard disc will be completely destroyed and the person who sent

you the message will have access to your name and password via the

Internet.

As far as we know, the virus was circulated yesterday morning.

It's a new virus, and extremely dangerous.

Please copy this information and e-mail it to everyone in your

address book. We need to do all we can to block this virus.

AOL has confirmed how dangerous it is, and there is no anti-virus

program yet, which is capable of destroying it.

Please take all the necessary precautions and pass this information

on to your friends, acquaintances and work colleagues.

And now a French version that someone painstakingly translated so our international

neighbors will not feel left out.

Microsoft nous a communiqué le message qui suit.

SVP le transmettre à toute personne que vous connaissez qui a accès

à l'Internet.

Vous recevrez peut-être un écran de veille ( " screen saver " ) de

Budweiser qui à prime abord vous paraîtra inoffensif.

Le message est intitulé BUDDYLST.SIP.

Si vous le recevez, NE L'OUVREZ PAS EN AUCUN CAS - annulez-le

immédiatement.

En l'ouvrant, vous allez perdre TOUTES LES DONNÉES de votre

ordinateur et votre disque dur sera totalement détruit. De plus, la

personne qui vous aura envoyé ce message aura accès à votre nom et votre

mot de passe via l'Internet.

Tout ce que nous savons c'est que le virus a été circulé hier matin.

Il s'agit d'un tout nouveau virus qui est extrêmement dangereux.

Veuillez communiquer ces renseignements par courriel à toutes les

adresses dans votre carnet d'adresses.

Nous devons tout faire pour le bloquer.

AOL a confirmé jusqu'à quel point ce virus est dangereux.

Aucun programme actuel ne peut le détruire.

Veuillez prendre toutes les précautions nécessaires, et communiquer

ce message à vos amis, connaissances et collègues de travail.

Family Pictures Hoax

March 2001

This must have been put out by someone who is tired of looking at other people's

picture albums.

Subject: Virus to look out for

DO NOT OPEN " NEW PICTURES OF FAMILY " It is a virus that will erase your

whole " C " drive. It will come to you in the form of an E-mail from a

familiar person. I repeat a friend sent it to me, but called & warned

me before I opened it. He was not so lucky and now he can't even start

his computer! Forward this to everyone in your address book. I would

rather receive this 25 times than not at all.

Also: Intel announced that a new and very destructive virus was

discovered recently. If you receive an e-mail called " FAMILY PICTURES, "

do not open it. Delete it right away! This virus removes all dynamic

link from your computer. Your computer will not be able to boot up.

WTC Survivor Virus Hoax

December 2001

This warning is just another variant of the Family Pictures Hoax.

To: friends

Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 9:11 PM

Subject: Troubles with Virus WTC Survivor

HOPE THIS GETS TO YOU IN TIME

BIG TROUBLE !!!! DO NOT OPEN "WTC Survivor"

It is a virus that will erase your whole "C" drive. It will come to you in

the form of an E-Mail from a familiar person. I repeat a friend sent it to

me, but called and warned me before I opened it. He was not so lucky and

now he can't even start his computer! Forward this to everyone in

your address book. I would rather receive this 25 times than not at

all. If you receive an email called "WTC Survivor" do not open it.

Delete it right away! This virus removes all dynamic link libraries

(.dll files) from your computer.

This is a serious one.

intifadah.cjb.net Hoax

March 2001

This particular hoax probably has a political motive. A web site cannot do what is

indicated in the message without your help. If a website can get you to download and run

an application then it can do anything to your system but without that help it can do

little more than open a bunch of windows. Opening a bunch of windows might make your

system unusable until you quit your browser or rebooted your system but would do no

permanent damage.

I actually went to this site and looked around. I did not find anything malicious. If

you click on the about box, it takes you to a page that acknowledges that the hoax message

is out there and makes the statements:

Your hard disk will not crash at this web site.

This web site is not maintained by zionists.

The warning wasn't an attempt to draw attention to this web site (this web site didn't

exsist untill the warning was sent).

Subject; Warning!

I don't know how true the following is, I am

forwarding it just in case!

Warning:

Do NOT enter this website: (intifadah.cjb.net)

or any other websites that ends up with CJB.net.

These are Zionist websites. Th Intifada

website has been constructed by the Zionists

to attract Arabs and Muslims who browse the

net. If you enter the website, your hard-drive

crashes at once.

SULFNBK.EXE Hoax

May 2001

This warning is a hoax. It was originally issued in Portuguese but some nice person

translated it into English. The real sulfnbk.exe program is a Windows program that is used

to restore long file names. You will find it in the \Windows\Command folder. Keep in mind

that sulfnbk.exe, like any executable program, could be infected with a virus. You should

regularly scan all the files on your system using a current antivirus scanner to insure

that none of them contains a virus. Information on how to replace the sulfnbk.exe program, in case you deleted it, is available at the

Symantic, McAfee,

and other antivirus websites.

Subject: BAD virus - act quickly!!

Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 21:57:22 -0400

Subject: Please Act Urgently

VIRUS COULD BE IN YOUR COMPUTER

It will become activate on June 1st and will delete all files and folders on

the hard drive.

No Anti-Virus software can detect it because it doesn't become a VIRUS

until 1/6/2001.

It travels through the e-mail and migrate to your computer.

To find it please follow the following directions:

Go To " START " button

Go to " Find " or " Search "

Go to files and folders

Make sure to search in drive C

Type in; SULFNBK.EXE

Begin Search

If it finds it, highlight it and delete it

Close the dialogue box

Open the Recycle Bin

Find the file and delete it from the Recycle Bin

You should be safe.

The bad part is you need to contact everyone you sent ANY e-mail to in the

past few months.

Many major companies have found this virus on their computers.

Whatever you do, DO NOT open the file.

Virtual Card Hoax

March 2001

Granted a real virus could delete sector 0 on your hard drive but this isn't one of

them. Also note that a knowledgeable person could put back sector 0 of a hard drive and

get back all your files.

URGENT ALERT

Please read the following carefully and send it to

EVERYONE you know. Send it to all contacts you have, for I

agree with the message, I'd rather receive this 25 times as

to not at all....

-------------------------------------------------------

A new virus has just been discovered that has been classified by

Microsoft www.microsoft.com) and by McAfee (www.mcafee.com) as

the most destructive ever! This virus was discovered yesterday

afternoon by McAfee and no vaccine has yet been developed. This

virus simply destroys Sector Zero from the hard disk, where vital

information for its functioning are stored. This virus acts in the

following manner: It sends itself automatically to all contacts on

your list with the title " A Virtual Card for You " . As soon as the

supposed virtual card is opened, the computer freezes so that the

user has to reboot. When the ctrl+alt+del keys or the reset button

are pressed, the virus destroys Sector Zero, thus permanently

destroying the hard disk. Yesterday in just a few hours this virus

caused panic in New York, according to news broadcast by CNN

(www.cnn.com). This alert was received by an employee of Microsoft

itself. So don't open any mails with subject " A Virtual Card for You " .

As soon as you get the mail, delete it. Please pass on this mail to

all your friends. Forward this to everyone in your address book. I

would rather receive this 25 times than not at all. Also: Intel

announced that a new and very destructive virus was discovered

recently. If you receive an email called " An Internet Flower

For You " , do not open it. Delete it right away! This virus removes

all dynamic link libraries(.dll files) from your computer. Your

computer will not be able to boot up.

SEND THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST!!

!000 Hoax

December 2001

I was kind of hoping that this one would die of its own accord, but no such luck.

While not really false, this list of instructions does not really help you prevent infections

and could fool you into being careless. For the few worms that remote control your Outlook application, this would tell you that you had already spammed the world with who knows how many

worm infected e-mails. For the current crop of worms that spread via e-mail, which contain their

own internal mailer, this would do nothing. Your time would be much better spent installing a

good antivirus program and keeping it updated. Remember, don't run attachments that you were not expecting to receive, even those that appear to have been sent by a friend. Verify them first with the friend

before running them (assuming you really trust the friend).

Here is a very helpful tip concerning worm viruses you could get in an email:

As you may know, if a worm virus gets into your computer, it heads straight

for your email address book and sends itself to everyone in there, thus

infecting all your friends and associates. This tip won't keep the virus from

getting into your computer, but it will stop it from using your address book

to spread itself further, and it will alert you to the fact that a worm virus

has gotten into your system.

Here's what you do:

1. Open your address book and add a "New Contact" just as you would do if

you were adding someone to your list of email addresses;

2. In the window where you would type your contact's first name, type !000

(that's an exclamation mark followed by 3 zeros);

3. In the box where you would enter the email address, type WormAlert;

4. Click Add;

5. Then, click OK.

Now, here's what you've done and why it works: The name !000 will appear at

the top of your email list as entry number:

A. This is the first email address a worm virus will find when it tries to

send all of your friends a virus infected email. But because the 1st email

address is invalid, it will be undeliverable, and the worm virus stops any

further attempts to access your address book.

B. The second advantage of this tip is that you will be notified when an

email cannot be delivered because of an invalid email address. You will

receive an email telling you that your email to "WormAlert" could

not be delivered. If you get this message, you'll know right away that you've

got a worm virus in your system. You can then take the appropriate steps to get

rid of it. Just knowing that you even have a virus is half the battle.

This is a very helpful tip, so pass it on.

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