It's an urban legend.
 
     -Bob
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______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Virus Warning?
Author:  Therm-O-Link <[log in to unmask]> at Internet
Date:    9/11/96 2:48 PM
 
 
Mark Watkins, INTERNET:[log in to unmask] writes:
 
>Maybe you should know this:
>
>                   V I R U S - W A R N I N G
>There is a computer virus that is being sent across the Internet.  If you
receive
>an email message with the subject line "Good  Times", DO NOT read the message,
>DELETE it immediately.  Please read the messages below.
 
<snip>
 
>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  email 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.
 
Huh? Can someone explain what an "nth-complexity infinite binary loop" is?  An
then explain how it's going to cause damage to a piece of silicon?
 
>The act of loading the file into the mail server's ASCII buffer causes the
"Good
>Times" mainline program to initialize and execute.
 
Wow!  Can I do this with my COBOL code?  Just load it into the editor and BAM!
It starts running!
 
I'm sorry, but this sounds like another of those "urban legends".  If anyone has
been affected by this virus, I apologize (and have just exposed my ignorance),
but I am very, very skeptical of claims like this.  Any comments?
 
Jim Phillips
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