All of us at one time have received an E-Mail message saying:

"PLEASE READ THE MESSAGE BELOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some miscreant is send E-Mail under the title
"Good Times" nationwide, if you get anything like this,
DON'T DOWN LOAD THE FILE!
It has a virus that rewrites your hard drive, obliterating
anything on it. Please be careful and forward this mail to
anyone you care about.....blah..blah..blah"

          The above is part of the text that is forwarded as part of the "Good Times" Hoax Virus. What the writer of the hoax virus wants is for you to forward the hoax on to all of your friends, neighbors, and everyone else whom you have E-Mail contact with. By passing this message on you are only perpetuating the hoax and causing some to have panic attacks because they have received E-Mail that may have a virus.

          The important thing for you to remember is that when you receive mail, review who sent you that mail. If it is coming from a university, corporation or someone you are not familiar with, you may want to simply delete it. After all, that is what most of us do with junk mail at home. If you are interested in reading it,go ahead and do so, but if it is a message informing you of a potential virus and you should E-Mail all of your friends about this new virus .... check to see if the virus is legitimate.

          Visit such sites as:

http://HoaxBusters.ciac.org/
Computer Incident Advisory Center (U.S. Department of Energy) Web site

http://vil.nai.com/VIL/hoaxes.asp
McAffee Hoax Web site

http://www.nonprofit.net/hoax/default.htm
Don't Spread that Hoax Web site

http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
Symantec Hoax Web site

          When in doubt, check one of the above sites before giving credence to any virus warning.

          It is important to remember that the only way a virus can be a problem is if you allow it to exist. A good method to prevent viruses is to use a virus protection software program such as Symantec Norton AntiVirus.

          But for a computer to be of any use at all, sooner or later you have to accept software from the outside world -- whether on a floppy disk, CD-ROM with a program you need to install, or something you download from the Internet. You need to watch from where you receive and gather your information.

          Be particularly watchful for macro viruses, which target users of recent versions of Microsoft Word. A macro virus can be caught by simply opening a Word document (containing the virus) and allowing the macro to activate and infect your computer. In some instances the virus can be very damaging. The macro virus is one of the very few viruses that can be a threat not only to PC's but also Macintosh users.

          You can visit an article written regarding "Preventive Medicine - Stop viruses before they start" on the web at:

../199610/virus2.shtml

          Another article (How Do I Keep My Computer Virus-Free? by Jim Quackenboss in the March-April 1999 Connections Newsletter) has information as to how to keep your machine virus free and also how you may request and acquire Norton's AntiVirus. This article can be found at:

../199903/virus5.shtml

          Remember, you are the front line for virus protection. Before passing on any information regarding a supposed virus, make sutre it is not a hoax. Check the sites above and if in doubtplease call the Help Desk at 3020, or E-Mail us at acshelp@uwosh.edu.