-----Original Message-----
From: charahl(a)earthlink.net <charahl(a)earthlink.net>
To: PABUCKS-L(a)rootsweb.com <PABUCKS-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Date: Sunday, March 28, 1999 12:12 PM
Subject: [PABUCKS-L] Microsoft 97 or 2000 Computer Virus- NOT a HOAX
or URBAN LEGEND
This is off topic, but you all need to be aware of it -- this virus
is
real
I know that this isn't a hoax or urban legend because this happened
to me
at 4:26 p.m. on Friday afternoon (opened my office e-mail for the
first
time that day and the message shown at the bottom of this article was
the
first e-mail in the box. I opened it and it started spewing out
messages
and filling my e-mail log with more than 158 responses before I could
shut down the machine. The address of the mailer was from another
military base (I work at one in Florida) so I assumed it was safe --
BIG
mistake. It can't hurt you unless you open it, so just highlight
it
and
hit the delete key. Better yet, if you don't recognize the name
of
any
sender, NEVER open an attachment. I reported it to our security and
network people and they probably had to work the weekend to start
getting
it purged from the machine. I've sent this to all the genealogy
lists to
which I belong (listed below) -- please pass it on to the others to
which
you belong, as well:
MIDMARCH NJHUNTER NJESSEX
NJMORRIS
SURNAMES-BRITAIN SURNAMES-CANADA PACUMBER
PABUCKS
ONTARIO SWEDEN WADDELL
KITCHEN
GLAMORGAN QUAKER-ROOTS BORDER
GENBRIT
WARNINGS OF COMPUTER VIRUS ISSUED:
PITTSBURGH (AP)--A new computer virus can allow documents to be
e-mailed
to other people without warning, a potential security breach that
should
worry businesses and governments, an expert at Carnegie Mellon
University
said Saturday.
The "Melissa macro" or W97M_Melissa virus spreads via infected e-mail
and
attacks computers loaded with Microsoft's widely used Word 97 or
Word
2000 programs, according to CERT--or Computer Emergency Response
Team--Carnegie Mellon's Department of Defense-funded computer
security
team.
CERT first heard of the virus Friday afternoon and its members worked
through the night to analyze the virus and develop a fix, CERT
manager
Katherine Fithen said.
"We're getting so many reports from across the world, that we know
this
is going to be a huge problem come Monday," Fithen said.
She noted that since CERT was founded 10 years ago, this is only the
second time it has considered a virus important enough to warrant a
public announcement. The first, in 1994, warned of a virus that
allowed
computer burglars to collect passwords.
CERT has not determined where the Melissa virus originated.
Fithen said she is not allowed to say whether any governmental agency
has
suffered a security breach as the result of Melissa.
Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn said company programmers worked with
CERT
and manufacturers of anti-virus programs to develop an antidote.
If a computer user opens an infected Word-format document, the virus
propagates itself by reading the user's e-mail address book and
sending
an infected message to the first 50 entries, CERT said.
The message can include the contents of any Word document that is
open on
the computer, Fithen said.
Also, the virus reproduces and sends so much unwanted e-mail that the
volume can overload some mail servers, the computers that distribute
e-mail.
However, it apparently causes no direct damage to a computer's memory
or
programs.
Infected documents are sent as attachments to e-mails most frequently
bearing a header: "Subject: Important Message From" and the name of
person whose computer relayed the virus.
The body of the message says "Here is that document you asked for ...
don't show it to anyone else ;-)."
Charline Gail KITCHEN Ahlgreen
Merritt Island, FL
If the pen is mightier than the sword, and a picture is worth a
thousand
words, then how dangerous is a fax?
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