I heard that the "Good Times" virus alert message
IS the virus. That is, there is no such thing as a "Good
Times" virus- there is no virus that can download itself
or execute itself just through the act of opening an E-mail
note.
The virus alert acts like a virus because people receive
it, believe that there is a "Good Times" virus, and forward
the warning to everyone on their mailing lists (i.e. they do
what the "Good Times" virus supposedly does automatically).
I'm not an expert on what is executable and what is not,
but I don't see how an ASCII message in an E-mail reader
can do anything to one's computer. Downloading a program
from a bulletin board is, of course, another matter.
-Bill Levinson, M.Eng. '82
