"BURMANET: VIRUS WARNING" (r)

[ider@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Yes, this is kind of a virus.
It works the following way: much like in a pyramid scheme it
is duplicated by YOU AND ME, and clogs the net bouncing back
and forth and finding more and more addressess. No email 
messages can do any harm to your computer except when you
detach the attached exe file or something, or read it as a
Word document if it has a macro virus in it. Just delete any
messages which urge you to forward it to other adresses.
That is all.
Imre

On 12 Mar 1997 Winston_Lee@xxxxxxx wrote:

> From: Winston Lee <Winston_Lee@xxxxxxx>
> 
> From: strider @ igc.apc.org         
> 
> 
> *************************
> 
> BURMANET: VIRUS WARNING
> March 11, 1997
> 
> If anyone receives e-mail entitled: PENPAL GREETINGS! please
> delete it  WITHOUT reading it. This is a warning for all Internet users. There 
> is a dangerous virus propagating across the Internet through an e-mail message 
> entitled "Penpal Greetings!" It is a self-replicating virus, and once the 
> message is read, it will AUTOMATICALLY forward itself to anyone who's e-mail 
> address is present in YOUR mailbox. This will destroy your hard drive, and 
> holds the potential to destroy the hard drive of anyone whose mail is in your 
> Inbox, and who's mail is in their Inbox and so on.  Pass this message along to 
> all of your friends, relatives and the other readers of the newsgroups and 
> mailing lists which you are on so that they are not hurt by this virus.
> 
> Library Automation Services
> 
> **************************************
> 
> Strider & other BurmaNet readers:
> 
> I could be wrong but I suspect this is kinda a hoax.  No viruses can be spread 
> just by simply reading an email unless there was an .exe, .url, .link, etc. 
> file attached.  Even w/ this, as long as you don't detach the file nutin will 
> happen.
> 
> I would ques the source of this email.  Internet rumors are quite ambiguous 
> easily spreadable.  Whether this "Penpal Greetings" is true or not, be wary of 
> stuff you heard/read on the Net...
> 
> Ques the source & "timing", do some homework, be skeptical & most important of 
> all, use common sense & apply some logic.
>