Virus warning not so much a hoax

[Alexander M Stroup]

> THIS IS A HOAX!!!!!!  AGAIN!!!!

Yes, this particular message is a hoax.  One that my grandchildren will
probably get to experience (I'm 22).

> 
> Please don't forward this on.  You CAN NOT get a virus from reading mail.
> You MUST run an excutable to get a virus.  Mail is just plain text and
> cannot be executed.

This part is no longer quite so true.  A new class of viruses has been
born in the last year.  WordMacro viruses.  These viruses take advantage
of Microsoft Word 6.x or 7.x's built in  macro language to spread
themselves.

This means that all that is necessary to spread such a virus is to READ
and infected document using Word 6.x or 7.x.  No executable is ever run
(except for your uninfected Word executable).

For more information on this class of viruses and trojan horses check out:
http://www.bocklabs.wisc.edu/~janda/macro_faq.html

Here is a discription from the FAQ of one of these viruses so you can see
that they may be just as bad as traditional viruses.

>4.9: FormatC Macro Trojan
>
>Also known as WORDMACRO.FORMATC, and FORMAT.C.Macro.Trojan 
>
>The FORMATC Macro Virus, isn't ieven a virus, as it DOES NOT SPREAD. This
>makes it another MACRO TROJAN. This Trojan contains only one macro,
>AutoOpen, which will be executed automatically when a document is opened.
>The Macro AutoOpen, is READ ONLY, making it encrypted, and unreadable and
>editable. It is visiable in the Macro List. 
>
>When FORMATC is executed, "triggered", it will run a dos session, in a
>minimized DOS box. It will run an Unconditional Format of the C drive. 
>
>NOTE: Get your hands on some up to date scanners, and pre-screen all
>documents. Also acquire some AV VxD's, as they should prevent the Trojan
>from wiping your drive clean. 

Alexander Stroup					    (808) 946-3297
University of Hawaii - Manoa			 www2.hawaii.edu/~astroup/	
Graduate School of Library and Information Science      astroup at hawaii.edu
        I have a brain like flypaper; sticky if you touch it.