Hello subscribers,
As others have pointed out, the Good Times virus is a hoax that has attained
the status of urban legend. Here is a Mini FAQ (frequently asked questions)
file with pointers to more information about this story that seems to surface
from time to time.
The Good Times email virus is a hoax!
If anyone repeats the hoax, please show them the FAQ.
G o o d T i m e s V i r u s H o a x
--------
M i n i FAQ
by Les Jones
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
April 27, 1995
This information can be freely reproduced in any medium, as long as
the information is unmodified.
A FAQ, if you're new to the Internet, is a document that answers
Frequently Asked Questions. his Mini FAQ is a summary of, and a a
reference to, the full FAQ, which has much more information about
this and other hoaxes. Instructions for retrieving the full FAQ are
at the end of this message. The Mini FAQ is short enough for faxes,
message boards, mailing lists, and people with short attention
spans.
-------------------------------------
Is the Good Times email virus a hoax?
-------------------------------------
Yes. It's a hoax.
America Online, government computer security agencies, and makers
of anti-virus software have declared Good Times a hoax. See Online
References at the end of the FAQ.
The hoax has been around since at least November of 1994. Since
that time, no copy of the alleged virus has ever been found, nor
has there been a single verified case of a viral attack.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I'm new to the Internet. What is the Good Times virus hoax?
-----------------------------------------------------------
The story is that a virus called Good Times is being carried by
email. Just reading a message with "Good Times" in the subject line
will erase your hard drive, or even destroy your computer's
processor. Needless to say, it's a hoax, but a lot of people
believed it.
Some of the companies that have reportedly fallen for the hoax
include AT&T, CitiBank, NBC, Hughes Aircraft, Texas Instruments,
and dozens or hundreds of others. There have been outbreaks at
numerous colleges.
The U.S. government has not been immune. Some of the government
agencies that have reportedly fallen victim to the hoax include the
Department of Defense, the FCC, and NASA.
The full Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ has more information about the
origins of the hoax, and variations on the text of the hoax.
---------------------------
What was the CIAC bulletin?
---------------------------
On December 6, 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy's CIAC (Computer
Incident Advisory Capability) issued a bulletin declaring the Good
Times virus a hoax and an urban legend. The bulletin was widely
quoted as an antidote to the hoax. The original document can be
found at the address in Online References at the end of the mini
FAQ, and is included verbatim in the full FAQ. CIAC issued another
bulletin on April 24, 1995 to reiterate that Good Times is a hoax.
-----------------
Online References
-----------------
CIAC Notes 94-05 95-09, and especially 94-04
--------------------------------------------
FTP to ciac.llnl.gov and look in the pub/ciac/notes directory. The
URL is ftp://ciac.llnl.gov/pub/notes/
The URL for the CIAC home page on the World Wide Web is:
http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/
America Online's official statement
-----------------------------------
keyword "virus2" on America Online
--------------------------------------------------------
Where can I find the complete Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ?
--------------------------------------------------------
Via FTP:
FTP to usit.net and look in the pub/lesjones directory. The URL is
ftp://usit.net/pub/lesjones/GoodTimes-HoaxFAQ.txt
On the World Wide Web:
http://nethelp.tamu.edu/~swood/GoodTimes-HoaxFAQ.html -- good
hypertext
http://www.tcp.co.uk/tcp/good.times.html -- great hypertext
http://www.singnet.com.sg/staff/lorna/Virus -- lots of virus info
(Note: the V must be capitalized.)
On Usenet:
alt.folklore.urban
alt.folklore.computers
On America Online:
the file libraries at keyword "virus"
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