On 22 Feb 99, at 21:23, K. Karl Kuller wrote:

>     Is this another prank to tie up the Internet via the
> "chain-letter effect" or a real virus?

  Almost certainly the former.

>     I received a warning not to open an e-mail with the
> title: "It Takes Guts to Say Jesus" because it will erase
> everything on your hard drive.

  It is not generally true that simply reading a mail message can have
this kind of effect.  This *could* arise as a problem with SOME
configurations of SOME e-mail programs, but the warning would be about
those e-mail programs, and likely NOT about some message subject.

>     Another virus warning was not to look at any mail that
> says: "RETURNED OR UNABLE TO DELIVER".  This virus will
> attach itself to your computer components (must mean hard
> drive) and render them useless.

  Software may be able to *damage* hardware, but one would not say it
"attaches" itself.

>     This "virus" was ostensibly announced by IBM yesterday
> morning.

>     AOL ostensibly said that this (first or second virus,
> did not say) virlus has no known remedy at this time.

  These companies have web sites and e-mail.  If they ever DID issue a
warning like this -- and I don't think it's likely -- you'd be able to
confirm it there yourself.  A valid warning would probably include a
URL...

  There's a warning circulating about punching codes into your phone to
let someone else place long-distance calls on your number.  Granted
that punching weird codes into your phone because some stranger asks
you to is really stupid, the usual form of the warning says the
scammers calim to be from AT&T, and that the warning has been confirmed
by/with "MCI Security".  [Would IBM issue a warning about a problem on
AOL???]
  When someone asked me to try to confirm this, I spent over an hour on
various 800 lines trying to reach ANYONE at MCI who could confirm it.
I never found an "MCI Security" department as such.  My conclusion had
to be that the claimed confirmation by MCI was simply not credible,
casting serious doubt on the entire warning.

  Bottom line:  If the sender claims confirmation or authority like
this, *you* should be able to verify it -- treat it as a hoax until you
do.


David G

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