Ishtaritu@asu.edu wrote:
>> Sorry, but this appears to be another "GOOD TIMES" virus hoax (now
>> immortalized with the status of urban legend). The virus is the warning
>> message itself, which will be propagated endlessly as long as someone
>> believes it is worth forwarding. It's not, but I'm a good host...
> I'm a little confused by what was meant by your message. Are you saying
> that the virus is in the message saying that there is a
> virus....or....are you saying that there is no virus under the message
> entitled PENPAL GREETINGS??? I guess I'm a little computer
> illiterate......help.
As the poet William S. Burroughs is wont to say, "A word is a virus."
What I was saying is it is the "virus warning" message that is the
actual virus. However, before you switch off your computer in a panic,
rest assured that your hard disk is safe and nothing bad will happen to
your files.
A virus, broadly defined, is a nuisance whose sole purpose is
self-replication through infection. The virus warning message is just
that. It contains no harmful executable code. It is "nothing more"
than words. However, individuals will read it and then think they are
doing their friends and associates a favor by distributing copies to
everyone they know. The message is replicated thousands upon thousands
of times, appearing in emailboxes around the world, doing little more
harm than taking up bandwidth, storage, and memory and wasting the few
moments time required to read it and forward it on (more if one takes
the time to add an extensive comment...) The effects on individuals are
minimal, but the cumulative waste of energy on a worldwide scale is
truly awesome.
The myth that one risks damage to precious information simply by reading
a email message is what drives the replication of this message/virus.
It is similar to the myth that one can contract AIDS or other
sexually-transmitted diseases by using a public toilet. It has no basis
in reality.
John Hoopes