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

I would like to thank Andrew Mayer for his thought and care.
However, the 'Good Times Virus' is in fact an
Urban Legend. I enclose below an explanation with
references.



>  DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANY FILE NAMED
> PKZIP300 REGARDLESS OF THE EXTENSION A NEW
> Trojan Horse Virus has emerged on the internet


I have no information as to whether this is a
hoax or not, although there *is* a hoax version of
a decompression application going around.

> file, the virus WILL wipe your hard disk clean

Technically possible

> and affect modems at 14.4 and higher.

This, I feel, is absolute garbage!


pete


Start of MINI FAQ
 =========================================

                  The Good Times email virus is a hoax!
          If anyone repeats the hoax, please show them the
          FAQ.



                 G o o d  T i m e s  V i r u s  H o a x
                              --------
                            M i n i  F A Q


                            by Les Jones
                           [log in to unmask]
                         [log in to unmask]

                          October 12, 1995



        This information can be freely reproduced in any
        medium,
              as long as the information is unmodified.

  A FAQ, if you're new to the Internet, is a document that
  answers Frequently Asked Questions. This Mini FAQ is a
  summary of, and a reference to, the full FAQ, which has
  much more information about this and other hoaxes.
  Instructions for retrieving the full FAQ are at the end of
  this message. The Mini FAQ is short enough for faxes,
  message boards, company memos, and people with short
  attention spans.


  -------------------------------------
  Is the Good Times email virus a hoax?
  -------------------------------------

  Yes. It's a hoax.

  America Online, government computer security agencies, and
  makers of anti-virus software have declared Good Times a
  hoax. See Online References at the end of the FAQ.

  The hoax has been around since at least November of 1994.
  Since that time, no copy of the alleged virus has ever
  been found, nor has there been a single verified case of a
  viral attack.

  ----------------------------------------------------------
  I'm new to the Internet. What is the Good Times virus
  hoax?
  ----------------------------------------------------------


  The story is that a virus called Good Times is being
  carried by email. Just reading a message with "Good Times"
  in the subject line will erase your hard drive, or even
  destroy your computer's processor. Needless to say, it's a
  hoax, but a lot of people believed it.

  Some of the companies that have reportedly fallen for the
  hoax include AT&T, CitiBank, NBC, Hughes Aircraft, Texas
  Instruments, and dozens or hundreds of others. There have
  been outbreaks at numerous colleges.

  The U.S. government has not been immune. Some of the
  government agencies that have reportedly fallen victim to
  the hoax include the Department of Defense, the FCC, and
  NASA.

  The full Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ has more information
  about the origins of the hoax, and variations on the text
  of the hoax.

  ---------------------------
  What was the CIAC bulletin?
  ---------------------------

  On December 6, 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy's CIAC
  (Computer Incident Advisory Capability) issued a bulletin
  declaring the Good Times virus a hoax and an urban legend.
  The bulletin was widely quoted as an antidote to the hoax.
  The original document can be found at the address in
  Online References at the end of the mini FAQ, and is
  included verbatim in the full FAQ. CIAC issued another
  bulletin on April 24, 1995 to reiterate that Good Times is
  a hoax.

  -----------------
  Online References
  -----------------

  CIAC Notes 94-05 95-09, and especially 94-04
  --------------------------------------------
  FTP to ciac.llnl.gov and look in the pub/ciac/notes
  directory. The URL is ftp://ciac.llnl.gov/pub/notes/

  The URL for the CIAC home page on the World Wide Web is:
  http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/

  America Online's official statement
  -----------------------------------
  keyword "virus2" on America Online

  --------------------------------------------------------
  Where can I find the complete Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ?
  --------------------------------------------------------
  Via FTP: FTP to usit.net and look in the pub/lesjones
  directory. The URL is
  ftp://usit.net/pub/lesjones/good-times-virus-hoax-faq.txt
  ftp://users.aol.com/macfaq/good-times-virus-hoax-faq.txt

  On the World Wide Web:
  http://www.tcp.co.uk/tcp/good-times/index.html --
  excellent hypertext
  http://www.singnet.com.sg/staff/lorna/Virus -- lots of
  virus info (Note: the V must be capitalized.)

  On America Online:
  the file libraries at keyword "virus"

  by email:
  send email to [log in to unmask] with REQUEST GT_VIRUS.TXT
  in the subject line.


end of mini-FAQ==========================





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