posted on February 15, 2001 05:03:37 PM
*VIRUS ALERT* *VIRUS ALERT* *VIRUS ALERT*
There is a very insidious virus making the rounds. It's a rapidly mutating virus, and therefore can appear in many different forms. As with most viruses, this one is designed to replicate and send copies of itself to everybody in your address book. This virus has two unique feature, though. First, it arrives as a simple e-mail message with no attachments -- just reading it is enough for you to become infected. Second, instead of automatically replicating and sending copies to everybody in your address book, it actually convinces YOU to do its dirty work instead.
It's called the "Gullibility" virus.
The actual text of the virus e-mail varies from strain to strain. Perhaps it will be an "inspirational" message or story. Or maybe it will be a warning about a non-existent virus, such as the "Budweiser Frog Screensaver". It could appear as a seemingly innocuous list of jokes. It has even been known to masquerade as a cookie recipe from Nieman-Marcus! But one thing all the strains have in common is that they all contain an instruction at the end to send copies of the e-mail to other people. Sometimes it's a simple command to "forward this to everyone in your address book". Other times, though, there's actually a threat: "If you don't send this e-mail along to 10 people within the next 10 minutes, something bad will happen to you". What type of inspirational message contains a threat at the end??? And yet, time and time again, people actually follow the instructions and send the message along to everyone they know.
The bad news is that none of today's anti-virus software has been able to entirely eliminate this virus, and so it keeps popping up. The good news, however, is that it is ridiculously easy to eliminate manually. Next time you get an e-mail that tells you to send a copy along to everybody you know, JUST DON'T DO IT!!!
posted on February 15, 2001 05:09:57 PM I got that yesterday in the form of the "Boiling Water from Microwave" email. A nice well meaning Aunt mailed it to all of us.
posted on February 15, 2001 05:10:27 PM
Barry ROTFLMAO! I can totally relate.
----------------------------------- Yoda of Borg are we: Futile is resistance. Assimilate you, we will.
posted on February 15, 2001 08:08:03 PM
I just got one of those "sick little girl wants everyone to read her letter, please forward this to everyone you know" e-mails.
posted on February 16, 2001 05:08:47 AM
Oh -- I forgot to mention...
Make sure you copy the text of my message and e-mail it to everybody in your address book. If you do this within 10 minutes, you'll win the lottery. If you don't, you'll get hit by a bus.
---
The opinions expressed above are for comparison purposes only. Your mileage may vary....
posted on February 16, 2001 05:24:42 AM
Virus hoaxes wil usually incorporate the name of at least one well known company in an attempt to provide an appearance of authenticity. Beware of any 'virus warning' which incorporates the words 'This was announced yesterday by IBM' or 'AOL have said this is a very nasty virus with no known remedy' or other phrases along similar lines. MSN and Norton are two other companies which are also frequently mentioned in connection with these so-called 'viruses'.
For me, the words 'this will totally erase all the files on your hard drive' is usually enough for me to consign the email to the trash. As for the so-called 'technical jargon' we could probably devote a whole thread to some of the ridiculous claims made about what these 'viruses' can supposedly do to your computer.
Don't get me wrong, there are bona fide email viruses out there and the real danger of these 'virus warning' emails is not only that they convince people understandably worried about viruses to 'help out' by 'passing the information along' (and so clogging up the world's email systems) but they also make the more computer savvy of us tend to regard EVERY virus warning as a hoax. And that too is a mistake.
posted on February 16, 2001 06:06:21 AM
And do not forget the "Aggie" virus...
Since aggies can not program, it works on the honor system. So please send a copy of the email to all your friends THEN delete all the files on your hard drive.....
I got that yesterday in the form of the "Boiling Water from Microwave" email. A nice well meaning Aunt mailed it to all of us.
I can totally relate. 
