The Good Times Virus is a HOAX

[Gwenzilla]

...and it's been around since sometime in 1994. The only thing remotely 
virus-like with the name of "good times" is the proliferation of warnings 
about the hoax which spring up from time to time. If you're interested, 
I've included a mini-faq on the subject.

To read either the short or long faqs, go to 
http://gamma.tamu.edu/gtshort.txt

>                The Good Times email virus is a hoax!
>        If anyone repeats the hoax, please show them the FAQ.
> 
>               G o o d  T i m e s  V i r u s  H o a x
>                             --------
>                           M i n i  FAQ
> 
>                           by Les Jones
>                          macfaq at aol.com
>                        lesjones at usit.net
> 
>                          April 27, 1995
> 
> This information can be freely reproduced in any medium, as long as
> the information is unmodified.
> 
> A FAQ, if you're new to the Internet, is a document that answers
> Frequently Asked Questions. his Mini FAQ is a summary of, and a a
> reference to, the full FAQ, which has much more information about
> this and other hoaxes. Instructions for retrieving the full FAQ are
> at the end of this message. The Mini FAQ is short enough for faxes,
> message boards, mailing lists, and people with short attention
> spans.
> 
> -------------------------------------
> Is the Good Times email virus a hoax?
> -------------------------------------
> 
> Yes. It's a hoax.
> 
> America Online, government computer security agencies, and makers
> of anti-virus software have declared Good Times a hoax. See Online
> References at the end of the FAQ.
> 
> The hoax has been around since at least November of 1994. Since
> that time, no copy of the alleged virus has ever been found, nor
> has there been a single verified case of a viral attack.
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> I'm new to the Internet. What is the Good Times virus hoax?
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The story is that a virus called Good Times is being carried by
> email. Just reading a message with "Good Times" in the subject line
> will erase your hard drive, or even destroy your computer's
> processor. Needless to say, it's a hoax, but a lot of people
> believed it.
> 
> Some of the companies that have reportedly fallen for the hoax
> include AT&T, CitiBank, NBC, Hughes Aircraft, Texas Instruments,
> and dozens or hundreds of others. There have been outbreaks at
> numerous colleges.
> 
> The U.S. government has not been immune. Some of the government
> agencies that have reportedly fallen victim to the hoax include the
> Department of Defense, the FCC, and NASA.
> 
> The full Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ has more information about the
> origins of the hoax, and variations on the text of the hoax.
> 
> ---------------------------
> What was the CIAC bulletin?
> ---------------------------
> 
> On December 6, 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy's CIAC (Computer
> Incident Advisory Capability) issued a bulletin declaring the Good
> Times virus a hoax and an urban legend. The bulletin was widely
> quoted as an antidote to the hoax. The original document can be
> found at the address in Online References at the end of the mini
> FAQ, and is included verbatim in the full FAQ. CIAC issued another
> bulletin on April 24, 1995 to reiterate that Good Times is a hoax.
> 
> -----------------
> Online References
> -----------------
> 
> CIAC Notes 94-05 95-09, and especially 94-04
> --------------------------------------------
> FTP to ciac.llnl.gov and look in the pub/ciac/notes directory. The
> URL is ftp://ciac.llnl.gov/pub/notes/
> 
> The URL for the CIAC home page on the World Wide Web is:
> http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/
> 
> America Online's official statement
> -----------------------------------
> keyword "virus2" on America Online
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------
> Where can I find the complete Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ?
> --------------------------------------------------------
> Via FTP:
> FTP to usit.net and look in the pub/lesjones directory. The URL is
> ftp://usit.net/pub/lesjones/GoodTimes-HoaxFAQ.txt
> 
> On the World Wide Web:
> http://nethelp.tamu.edu/~swood/GoodTimes-HoaxFAQ.html -- good
> hypertext
> http://www.tcp.co.uk/tcp/good.times.html  -- great hypertext
> http://www.singnet.com.sg/staff/lorna/Virus -- lots of virus info
> (Note: the V must be capitalized.)
> 
> On Usenet:
> alt.folklore.urban
> alt.folklore.computers
> 
> On America Online:
> the file libraries at keyword "virus"







 Gwen Knighton            gwynfyd at max.tiac.net            (bard for hire)
knighton at tiac.net   http://www.tiac.net/users/knighton    (I speak Geek!)
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