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 -=> Quoting Jacques Duquette to All <=-
 JD> please stop posting message about the good times virus this virus
 JD> is not a virus because it does NOT EXIST.
Or at least quit using "G**d T*mes" as the subject.  It is not a virus.
It is a HOAX.  Come on!  Everybody needs to get some common sense.  Any
alleged "virus" that claims to format your cat, make your genitals fall
off, cause your food to spoil, call up girlfriends/boyfriends, make
your computer explode or catch on fire, destroy the CPU by putting it
in a loop, poison your pets, etc., is not a virus.
     How come is it that every time there is a virus hoax like this
that they are usually accompanied with fake notices from the FCC and
the FBI?  Come on!  That just shows how ignorant these "hackers" and
troublemakers really are.  It seems like after a while they would start
using the names of other official offices, but they don't.  They are
about as creative as the punk teens that yell "F*ggot!!!" at anybody
that looks, talks, acts, dresses or walks differently than they do,
regardless of their orientation.  Of all the names they can use, that
is the one they choose about 9 times out of 10.  Same thing as with the
folks who spread rumors about viruses that don't even exist.  Nine
times out of ten, they write a fake notice from the FCC trying to
validate their false claims.
     The same things apply to some people who log onto BBS's.  I have
had people call mine and say that they were from the FCC and demanded
sysop access to the system.  What made them look stupid was that they
couldn't even spell what FCC stands for.  Hopefully if you worked some
place, you would know how to spell it, or would at least have the full
name of the place down in writing and would be able to read that and
spell it correctly from there.  Someone tried logging on as the
president once, and they used the First Lady's name as their password,
but they mispelled her name.  That reminds me of the original STONED
virus, the virus writers mispelled "legalize."  They put "legalise."
     While we are talking about virus hoaxes, I'll also mention another
hoax.  There was once a text file that is probably still floating
around that will tell you that you can convert a 2400 bps modem into
a 9600 modem with MNP and v.42bis, etc.  It gives some line of bull
about phasing and bandwith and that kind of thing and told of 1 or 2
chips to change.  One of the chips was the UART.  There was no harm
and possibly some benefit to that recommendation since it was saying
to replace the 8250 or 16450 chip with the 16550 chip.  But one problem
was when they said to replace some other chip.  The chip that they
said to use was a 40-pin DIP and the one that was to be replaced was
a 20-pin DIP chip.  Plus, one was a CPU of sorts and the other was a
buffer chip.  It doesn't take an expert to see that won't work.  If
you tried to mount it and then try using the modem, you may possible
blow the remaining parts on the modem and/or the replacement chip.
That was bad enough in and of itself since it caused people to destroy
their own modems.  In a since, that could be a human "brain virus,"
where instead of the machine doing the damage, the user does.  One
other thing that isn't taken into account in the text file is that the
algorythms for the error correction and data compression are patented.
So, it wouldn't be possible to do the conversion for the price that
the file said since one would have to buy the rights to be able to
obtain and use the microcode (and it would take more chips and
circuitry than was outlined and eprom chips, etc.)  If you were to
obtain that information any other way, it wouldn't be legal.  The
file claimed that you could add error correction to any modem.  Well,
there is some truth to that.  They suggested adding a simple R/C
network and called it MNP.  That isn't MNP as they called it, but an
R/C network *might* help reduce line noise and spikes.  Other than
the advice about changing the UART chip and building the line noise
filter circuit, the rest was just dangerous nonsense.  It was dangerous
in that it was a pack of lies that someone may just assume to be true
and to act upon.  Novices in computers and electronics were the biggest
targets since they knew enough to be able to carry out the instructions
in the text (except for the part about putting a 40 pin chip into a 20
pinarrangement), but not know enough to realize that what was suggested
was technically impossible.  It was interesting that in all the stuff
that was promised by this DYI "upgrade," that no mention was made of
changing crystals, frequency divider chips, or even altering the ROM
instructions that controlled the modem.
     Although, these are not computer viruses in the common sense of
the term, they are, in my opinion, just as unethical as deliberately
writing true viruses that can cause real damage in and of themselves.
The reason I say that is that these hoaxes play on the ignorances of
common people.  Writing and distributing the text on how to modify
the modem can almost be compared to giving a child poison and calling
it KoolAid.  Just like the toddler who doesn't know food from poison,
likewise many people can't tell the difference between a hoax, a
virus, or a piece of helpful literature of well intent.  I think it
is unethical to take advantage of someone's intelligence in such a
way.  In many ways, the G.T. Hoax is just as bad as a real virus.
I mean, I consider both an act of terrorism.  Both waste time that
could be spent on other things.  Both cause a panic and needlessly
ties up offices of both businesses and the government.  Both are
spread, if not started, by people I would call losers.  Both cause
a panic and cause people to be unnecessarily cautious (paranoid), to
the point that they refuse to carry on everyday activities (like read
e-mail).  Both tie up BBS's with needless messages.  Whether there
is just a real virus or just a threat or hoax, the "hackers" (the bad
connotation) reached pretty much the same end.  They scare a bunch of
people and brag about it amongst themselves.  No, they didn't actually
cause any direct damage, but spreading the misinformation can cause
people to do damage themselves, or even contribute to someone's
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