[aclug-L] Re: Four Very Serious Warnings!!!

["Clint A. Brubakken" <cabrubak@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 15 Dec 1999, Kong Wo wrote:

> 
> Hi everyone,
>     Here are 4 serious warnings recently.
> 
> ***  WARNING No. 1 ***
> If you receive any CELCOM Screen Saver. Pls. do not install it!!!!!!
> This screensaver is very cool. It shows a NOKIA handphone, with
> time messages.  After it is activated, the PC cannot boot up at all.
> It goes very slow.  It destroys your hard disk. The filename is
> CELLSAVER.EXE

does this run under wine?

>  
> *** WARNING No. 2 ***
> Beware! if someone named <SandMan> asks you to check
> out his page. DO NOT! It is at  www.geocities.com/vienna/6318
> This page hacks into your C:\drive. DO NOT GO THERE...
> FORWARD THIS MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.

well as I don't have a c:\ drive I guess I'm safe. 


> 
> *** Warning No. 3 ***
> SEND THIS TO EVERYONE IN YOUR CONTACT LIST! THIS IS NO JOKE,OK?
> WARNING: If you get a E-mail titled : "Win A Holiday" DO NOT
> open it.   Delete it immediately. Microsoft just announced yesterday.
> It is a malicious virus that WILL ERASE YOUR HARD DRIVE. At
> this time there is no remedy.  Forward this to everyone IMMEDIATELY!!

As pine doesn't execute any script or programs it finds in email, (and it
would have to do so as root). I think I'm pretty safe. 

Also why is Microsoft writting viruses? (Besides Windows 2000)
> 
> *** Warning No. 4 ***
> W A R N I N G ! ! ! ! ! ! ! If you receive an e-mail titled JOIN THE
> CREW or PENPALS DO NOT open it!!!!! It will erase EVERYTHING
> on your hard drive! PENPAL appears to be a friendly letter asking
> you if you are interested in a penpal.....but by the time you read
> this letter it is TOO late.  The Trojan horse virus will have already
> infected the boot sector of your harddrive, destroying all the data
> present. It is a self-replicating virus, and once the message is read
> it will AUTOMATICALLY forward itself to anyone who's e-mail
> address is present in your box!!!  This virus will destroy your hard
> drive and holds the potential to DESTROY the hard drive of anyone
> whose mail is in your box and whose mail is in their box and so
> on and on!!!!!! So delete any message titled PENPAL or JOIN
> THE CREW this virus can do major DAMAGE to worldwide networks!!!!
> 
> PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND PEOPLE IN YOUR MAILBOXES.
> 
> AOL HAS SAID THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS VIRUS AND THERE IS NO REMEDY FOR
> THIS YET.
> 

Well as AOL doesn't run on linux, I don't think I need to worry.

As you can tell by my answers, even if these warning were true, any one
running linux would not be affected. 

Also AOL and Microsoft do not send out Virus Warnings. CERN and some of
the virus scanner manufactures do (Symantec, McAffee, Norton, or whoever
ones them this week)

There are plenty of things to worry about, but the "Warnings" are not.


--
Clint Brubakken
Developer, Computer Science Services Group, LLC
Dictator-for-Life Air Capital Linux Users Group 
Wichita, KS
cabrubak@xxxxxxx
---
Marge:  Homer, couldn't we pawn my engagement ring instead?

Homer:  Now, I appreciate that, honey, but we need
        one hundred and fifty dollars here.

                  There's No Disgrace Like Home