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Archiver > WILKINSON > 1999-06 > 0930545398


From: "George W. Durman" <>
Subject: Fw: "California Virus"
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 00:49:58 -0400


Hello "dholt". I am replying to you AND to all those to whom you sent the
warning about the "new" virus. DO NOT FORWARD THIS WARNING TO ANYONE ELSE
!!!!! If you have already done so, EMAIL THEM AND TELL THEM THIS IS A
"HOAX" !!!!!

We Listowners at Rootsweb (and elsewhere) have long had a rule that NO
virus warning is to be posted to the Mailing Lists -- just for this VERY
reason. Too many people believe hoax email and become accomplices in
clogging up the internet with worthless warnings.

DO AS I DID WHEN I RECEIVED THE "VIRUS WARNING". Go to one of the web
sites for anti-virus programs (I went to www.mcafee.com) and check it
out. When I went to the site, neither "WOBBLER" nor "CALIFORNIA" was
listed anywhere in the virus list. Then I went to the "hoax" page. Guess
what?! Yup, it's a genuine HOAX. Below is an exact copy of the page for
"WOBBLER":

**********(Web Page from McAfee (NAI))**********

Virus Hoax Center

McAfee.com : Support

Wobbler Hoax

AVERT HOAX Notice!!

NAI Labs AVERT would like to inform you of a new
email
HOAX.

This email message is just a HOAX, currently we
know of
no other message that the user will receive
about the
HOAX as the initial email states. AVERT has not
received
any report of a user's hard drive being erased
for opening
the email.

We are advising users who receive the email to
delete it
and DO NOT pass it on as this is how an email
HOAX
propagates.

Below is the actual text from the message that
may be
received via email.

"Thought you might be interested in this
message. If you
receive an email with a file called "California"
do not open
the file. The file contains the "WOBBLER" virus.

"This information was announced yesterday
morning by IBM.
The report says that ..."This is a very
dangerous virus, much
worse than "Melissa" and there is NO remedy for
it at this
time. Some very sick individual has succeeded in
using the
reformat function from Norton Utilities causing
it to
completely erase all documents on the hard
drive. It has
been designed to work with Netscape Navigator
and Microsoft
Internet Explorer. It destroys Macintosh and IBM
compatible
computers. This is a new, very malicious virus
and not many
people know about it at this time.

"Please pass this warning to everyone in your
address book
and share it with all your online friends ASAP
so that the
destruction it can cause may be minimized."
__________________________________
- This is the end of the email message -

Again if you receive this email delete the it
and DO NOT pass
it on

AVERT
A Division of NAI Labs

**********(End of Web Page from McAfee (NAI))**********

I know many new users are fooled by these things, and think they are doing
a good deed; but.....they fall into the trap that the originator of the
HOAX intended for them to fall into -- to clog up the net with junk and
then the perpetrators can sit back and laugh at their cleverness. Folks,
it's NOT cleverness nor intelligence, it's just pure old, plain & simple,
BADNESS!!!!!
If you want to put a fancy socially correct name on it, it's "a lack of
social consciousness".

"D", please don't think I am "getting on you". You just didn't know
better. To tell you the truth, it flashed through my mind to pass it on
to friends of mine. Then Rule Nr. 1 took over: "Pass on NOTHING via
email or the Net/Web until it has been checked out." That has saved my
hide more than once.

I have a multitude of URL addresses for various Virus/Hoax/Myth web sites,
but you can easily verify ANY new virus (or hoax/myth) by checking with
the McAfee website, www.mcafee.com.

Regards,
SgtGeorge
George W. Durman
Knoxville, TN
(Listowner of several Mailing Lists at Rootsweb and a PROUD Rootsweb
Donor.)

**********(Original Message)**********

At 12:03 AM 6/26/99 , dholt wrote:
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>Date: 25 June 1999 15:17
>Subject: FW: "California Virus"
>
>
>>Subject: "California Virus"
>>Importance: High NOT A HOAX!!!
>>
>>
>>FYI
>>
>>
>>Thought I would pass this along to you. Did not know whether you know
>about
>>it or not.
>>WARNING: If you receive an email with a file called "California", do
not
>>open the file. The file contains the WOBBLER virus. This information
>was
>>announced yesterday morning from IBM; AOL states that this is a very
>>dangerous virus, much worse than "Melissa", and that there is NO remedy

>for
>>it at this time. Some very sick individual has succeeded in using the
>>reformat function from Norton Utilities causing it to completely erase
>all
>>documents on the hard drive. It has been designed to work with Netscape
>>Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. It destroys Macintosh and
IBM
>>compatible computers. This is a new, very malicious virus and not many
>>people know about it. Pass this warning along to EVERYONE in your
address
>>book and please share it with all your online friends ASAP so that this
>>threat may be stopped.
>>
>>
>
>
>

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