COMPUTER VIRUS DELIVERED BY E-MAIL.Byline: Dawn Yoshitake Daily News Staff Writer Like a nagging cold that won't go away, the "Good Times" computer virus hoax A computer virus hoax is a false email message warning the recipient of a virus that is going around. The message usually serves as a chain e-mail that tells the recipient to forward it to everyone they know. has flared up again. The hoax - entering its second year and usually delivered via electronic mail - is a warning to computer users about e-mail titled "Good Times" that, when read, will destroy a hard drive and possibly the processor. Recipients of this bogus alert are told the Good Times virus is far more deadly than the destructive Stoned, Airwolf and Michelangelo viruses, which actually exist. Like a chain letter, the Good Times warning is passed along by well-meaning computer users to co-workers, friends, news groups and message boards. MCA MCA in full Music Corporation of America Entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in Chicago in 1924 by Jules Stein as a talent agency. In the 1960s it bought Decca Records and Universal Pictures, and today it produces films, music, and television shows. Inc. and Sony Pictures Entertainment are among the major companies whose employees have received the Good Times warning in the past several months. So persistent is the warning that government agencies have released statements discounting its claims. There's even a World Wide Web site dedicated to dispelling the hoax (http://www.usit.net/public/lesjo nes/goodtimes.html). "The number of people who've heard about this is in the millions. A small percentage believe it's true and they send out messages on their mailing lists," said Karyn Pichnarczyk, who in December 1994 wrote a Good Times bulletin for the Department of Energy's Computer Incident Advisory Capability See CIAC. . CIAC (Computer Incident Advisory Capability) A group within the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) that serves as the department's CERT and makes its bulletins and documents available to the public. For more information, visit www.ciac.org/ciac. releases bulletins on security issues, such as viruses. The Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. issued a release debunking de·bunk tr.v. de·bunked, de·bunk·ing, de·bunks To expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug. the Good Times virus last year, after the phony warnings said the FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. had released a memo about the dangers of the e-mail virus A virus that comes within an attached file in an e-mail message. When that file is opened, the virus does its damage. Macro viruses can come in Microsoft Word documents that are sent as e-mail attachments. . Leslie Jones Leslie Jones could mean:
"It's a persistent nuisance that wastes a lot of bandwidth. I saw it and thought it wasn't true and ignored it. A few days later, the hoax started to grow and that's when I decided to investigate it," Jones said. He found that the message was a hoax for a couple of reasons. One, the act of reading electronic messages will not infect a computer. Two, viruses are spread only when a program is executed, such as opening an attached file that comes with a message. Pichnarczyk noted most computers' default configurations are set to prevent the automatic execution of an attached file when delivered via e-mail. She also advised running a virus check before downloading or running from strangers. Hughes Electronics Corp. was hit with a bout of the Good Times hoax in early 1995 and informed employees who inquired that it was a spoof. Meanwhile, the hoax has spread to MCA and Sony in recent months. "I've gotten five to six calls a month during the last two months," said Becky Soto, an MCA senior systems analyst. "I just tell them to delete it and say it's against company policy to send chain letters chain letters at height in 1930s, craze crippled postal service. [Am. Hist.: Sann, 97–104] See : Fads ." Still, hoaxes cost companies money. "We still have to respond to it, whether it's a hoax or not. That takes time and time is money, so there is a cost factor there," said Michele Berg, MCA director of business services. She added that it took several hours to respond to employees' questions and to check the company's computer equipment as a precaution. Jones expects the hoax to linger. "I don't see the Good Times hoax going away anytime soon," Jones said. "The trend, if anything, is it'll become more common as there's an acceleration on the Internet of people who aren't familiar with it and will help sustain it." VIRUS PREVENTION Good Times is a phony warning about a computer virus. But what about real virus warnings? Here's a list of resources: Usenet newsgroup: comp.virus Virus-L mailing list: Send e-mail to listservlehigh.edu and include in the message the words: sub virus-l(your name) FTP site: cert.org in pub/virus-1/docs/ Web page: http://www.singnet.com.sg/staff/orna/Virus SOURCE: Daily News research CAPTION(S): CHART Box VIRUS PREVENTION (See text) |
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