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*** TOPIC: COMPUTER VIRUS WARNINGS ***
Trish (et al):
It is my understanding that the warnings that have been posted, which
say that a computer-virus will be released if we read e-mail messages
with certain labels, are ESSENTIALLY MISLEADING & INCORRECT: Simply
reading an e-mail message the regular way, i.e., by ASCII text-viewer
(such as via Lynx or other web-browsers) will NOT unleash a virus --
BUT if the email has an ATTACHMENT (i.e., an attached file) that you
must download into your computer, that ATTACHMENT *may* contain a
virus, and that virus (if it exists) can only be activated *if* you
then try to OPEN that file, such as by running a program on the file to
activate it. If that attachment, for example, is a "Word for Windows"
document, and if it contains the virus, you'd inadvertently activate
that virus as soon as you try to view the file VIA "Word for Windows".
So my advice is: DON'T PANIC over all these misleading "virus warnings",
but instead check out their validity first. One way to do this is to
log onto the government's CIAC website for further details about
computer viruses, as was suggested in someone else's email which I've
excepted below.
Good luck.
-- SS
(9/2/97)
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>Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 19:22:26 -0400
>From: Trish Scarmuzzi <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Beware of virus!!
>Helen,
Thanks for the warning. I will also let the teachers at our school
know not to open these. Our building is new to the Net, so I'd hate
to have all those brand new computers we've got wiped out! Trish
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*** EXCERPT FROM MESSAGE FROM C.I.A.C. ABOUT FALSE VIRUS-WARNINGS: ***
Thanks for helping us put out these silly fires. Feel free to point folks to
our web pages.
In addition to our hoax page at:
http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html
we now have a web page on internet chain letters at:
http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACChainLetters.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) Rose Guilbert
(510)422-8193 (510)423-0994
[log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CIAC is the U.S. Department of Energy's Computer Incident Advisory
Capability. For up-to-date information on computer viruses (and hoaxes,
such as "Good Times"), see the CIAC Web page: http://ciac.llnl.gov.
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