Date: Thu, 07 Nov 1996 11:07:15 -0500
From: "Matt D." <afn02065-AT-afn.org>
Subject: M-I: Good Times, baby! :-)


Chegitz writes:

>	I hate to be wasting one of my posts on this, but this is a hoax.
>There is no good times virus. 
>
>	I don't know about the pkzip 3.00, but I suspect this is a hoax as
>well.

This "Good Times" business has been making the internet rounds
for a couple of years now -- sort of a "cyber"  version of the "blue
star LSD" crap circulating at PTA meetings every now and again.  It's
going through a bit of a revival currently: we just got an "urgent
notice" from our network administrator, who you think would know
better.

Coincidentally, we recently got a xerox of a "fax" about the threat
of Blue Star LSD too.  When I told folks in my office that those
"alerts" have been going around in basically identical form for 15
to 20 years, they had trouble believing me.  Sigh.  Indeed, this isn't
the first "urban legend" to make it onto the marxism list.  We had a
post some months ago that was a retelling of the "JATO" car crash
story.  Good to know we haven't lost touch with the masses, I
guess. :-)

As for the PKZIP trojan horse, it's real but rare.  The only thing you
have to do to "protect" yourself is, if you happen to come across
a file billing itself as version 3 of PKZIP, don't download it.  If you
download it for some reason, just delete it -- don't run it.

A good place for non-hysterical virus information is the Symantec
Anti-Virus Research Center (run by the folks that put out Norton
Anti-Virus).  They're on the web at

	http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/index.html

Safe surfing,

-- Matt "typing this in latex gloves" D.

-- Finger afn02065-AT-afn.org for PGP Public Key --


     --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---