virus: Fw: Virus Warning

Freeman Boyd (fboyd@log.on.ca)
Wed, 24 Feb 1999 11:29:14 -0800

Hi guys,

It's me, ERiC, posting from my dad's account here at home. I just thought you'd be interested to see that even engineers can fall pray to the really good memes. Most interestingly, I have read the "It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus'", and in itself, that is quite a good meme for the propagation of <Jesus>. A quick analysis of this e-mail indicates that somebody probably borrowed an older "virus" warning and merely subsituted the new name in. Several things jumped to my attention:

  1. multiple calls to authority: IBM, AOL,
  2. multiple "danger" alerts,
  3. multiple calls to send it too all your friends.
  4. Full address and telephone number. Anybody wanna volunteer to call that number?

Most annoyingly, it came through not one but actually TWO of Queens University office personnel to get to me. Bad sign?


> From: Jim Bennett <bennettj@post.queensu.ca>
> To: Applied Science Interns 1997/98:;; Applied Science Interns 1998/99:;;
Prospective 1999/2000 Applied Science Interns:;
> Subject: Fwd: Virus Warning
> Date: Tuesday, February 23, 1999 6:31 PM
>
> >X-Sender: popleeas@post.queensu.ca
> >X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.1
> >Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 11:20:22 -0500
> >To: allusers@eleceng.ee.queensu.ca
> >From: Kendra Pople-Easton <popleeas@post.queensu.ca>
> >Subject: Fwd: Virus Warning
> >
> >>X-Sender: pricec@post.queensu.ca
> >>X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32)
> >>Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1999 11:13:46 -0500
> >>Reply-To: Cindy Price <pricec@post.queensu.ca>
> >>Sender: GQL Group <GQL-L@post.queensu.ca>
> >>From: Cindy Price <pricec@post.queensu.ca>
> >>Subject: Virus Warning
> >>To: GQL-L@post.queensu.ca
> >>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>VIRUS WARNING !!!!!!!
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>If you receive an email titled "It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus'"
DO NOT
> >>>>>>>>>>open it. It will erase everything on your hard drive. Forward
this
> >>>>>>>>>>letter out to as many people as you can. This is a new, very
> >>malicious
> >>>>>>>>>>virus and not many people know about it. This information was
> >>announced
> >>>>>>>>>>yesterday morning from IBM; please share it with everyone that
might
> >>>>>>>>>>access the internet. Once again, pass this along to EVERYONE in
your
> >>>>>>>>>>address book so that this may be stopped. Also, do not open or
even
> >>>>>>>>look
> >>>>>>>>>>at any mail that says "RETURNED OR UNABLE TO DELIVER." This
virus
> will
> >>>>>>>>>>attach itself to your computer components and render them
useless.
> >>>>>>>>>>Immediately delete any mail items that say this.
> >>>>>>>>>>AOL has said that this
> >>>>>>>>>>is a very dangerous virus and that there is NO remedy for it at
this
> >>>>>>>>>>time. Please practice cautionary measures and forward this to
all
> your
> >>>>>>>>>>online friends ASAP.
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>Bryan Martin
> >>>>>>>>>>Compaq Computer Corporation
> >>>>>>>>>>1125 Evergreen Oak Way
> >>>>>>>>>>Dacula, Georgia 30019
> >>>>>>>>>>(770) 822-1195 office
> >>>>>>>>>>(770) 354-6082 mobile
> >>>>>>>>>>(888) 979-3719 pager
> >>>>>>>>>>bryan.martin@compaq.com
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>>
> >>>>>>>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>Cindy Price, Office of the University Registrar
> >>Queen's University at Kingston
> >>Rm 12m, Richardson Hall, Kgtn, ON K7L 3N6
> >>(613) 533-6000 x 74084 fax:(613) 533-2068
> >>pricec@post.queensu.ca
> >>http://www.queensu.ca/registrar
>
> Jim Bennett, P.Eng.
> Coordinator, Applied Science Internship Program

ERiC
ps: I've got a few comments about recient happenings here, but they can wait till thursday when I'm back at my machine.