Well,
I guess it's about time to warn everyone about a real virus that is
quickly spreading via email. You many have seen warnings about it on
TV, but I don't want you to take my word for it -- instead, please feel
free to check it out on your own.
It's common mane is the "Happy99 Virus". It's technical name is the
"SKA Worm". But by whichever name, it can be a real annoyance. The
reason I am passing the warning on to this list, is that most of those
who are infected have already infected others by the time they realize
they are infected.
If you receive an email with an attachment called "Happy99.exe", do not
run the attachment. Simply reading an email can never infect you with a
virus, but -running- an attachment can. The program attachment simply
shows a window with fireworks and the message "Happy New Year 1999" when
run. But by that point, you would also already be infected. This
virus/worm actually works to intercept all outgoing email, replacing it
with only the Happy99.exe attachment instead. Therefore, someone who is
infected might send that infected attachment to others on the list, thus
infecting them (if they ran the attachment).
You won't lose data, nor will your machine burst into flames if you're
infected, but you won't be able to send any "real" emails or newsgroup
posts until you're disinfected.
Both Jim Wilson & myself have had to battle it at work over the last
week.
I just wanted to stop any problems before they occur. If you get a
message from this list (or for anyone else) that has an executable
("runnable") attachment such as a .exe or .com, you should only run it
with extreme caution. As for the Happy99.exe attachment, chances are it
actually is infected, and you shouldn't run it at all...
Feel free to check out:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2208275,00.html or
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2195075,00.html or do a
web search on "Happy99" for more details.
-Dave Stragand
Forward Look Mailing List Administrator
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