Miata Mailing List: May 1995, Message #6
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From: Mac
Subject: Good times virus info... ;)
Date: Mon, 1 May 1995 08:10:06 -0400
This was just sent to me and since there was a recent discussion
on the "Good Times Virus" I thought I would share this. For you that
are still paranoid there is a mailing list that you can subscribe to
for help.
This is reprinted from the Computer Underground Digest #7.34.
-Mac.
'95 Montego Blue - Leather.
CONTENTS, #7.34 (Sun, April 30, 1995)
File 1-- ***VIRUS INFO*** (GOOD TIMES VIRUS A HOAX, FOLKS!)
File 2--Clipper paper available for anon FTP
File 3--New Maillist battles Omnibus Terrorism Bill/Join NOW! (fwd)
File 4--Ohio Job Opening
File 5--making reality acceptable: cybercafe @ compress
File 6--Playing to Win in DC June 1-4
File 7--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 19 Apr, 1995)
CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION APPEARS IN
THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 1995 02:14:46 -0400
From: "Robert A. Rosenberg"
Subject: File 1-- ***VIRUS INFO*** (GOOD TIMES VIRUS A HOAX, FOLKS!)
((MODERATORS' NOTE: We've received number of posts regarding the
so-called "Good Times" virus, and "warnings" have appeared on
many of the news groups we read. The following is unlikely to
end it until it's time to pay the modem tax)).
Originally from:
At 18:04 4/26/95, 00bawhelchel@bsuvc.bsu.edu wrote:
[Another "Good Times" Virus Warning]
Here we go again .
The "Good Times Virus" is a Urban Legend. In reality it is composed of the
mass mailing of spurious warnings like the above from those who
(admittedly) are trying to be helpful.
Here is the real story (Note that date on the warning to see how long this
BS has been going on).
================================================================
CIAC Notes
Number 94-04c:December 8, 1994
Welcome to the fourth issue of CIAC Notes! This is a special edition
to clear up recent reports of a "good times" virus-hoax. Let us know
if you have topics you would like addressed or have feedback on what
is useful and what is not. Please contact the editor, Allan L. Van
Lehn, CIAC, 510-422-8193 or send E-mail to ciac@llnl.gov.
Reference to any specific commercial product does not necessarily
constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by
CIAC, the University of California, or the United States Government.
THE "Good Times" VIRUS IS AN URBAN LEGEND
In the early part of December, CIAC started to receive information
requests about a supposed "virus" which could be contracted via
America OnLine, simply by reading a message. The following is the
message that CIAC received:
Here is some important information. Beware of a file called Goodtimes.
Happy Chanukah everyone, and be careful out there. There is a virus on America
Online being sent by E-Mail. If you get anything called "Good Times",
DON'T read it or download it. It is a virus that will erase your hard
drive. Forward this to all your friends. It may help them a lot.
THIS IS A HOAX. Upon investigation, CIAC has determined that this message
originated from both a user of America Online and a student at a university
at approximately the same time, and it was meant to be a hoax.
CIAC has also seen other variations of this hoax, the main one is that
any electronic mail message with the subject line of "xxx-1" will
infect your computer.
This rumor has been spreading very widely. This spread is due mainly
to the fact that many people have seen a message with "Good Times" in
the header. They delete the message without reading it, thus
believing that they have saved themselves from being attacked.
These first-hand reports give a false sense of credibility to the
alert message.
There has been one confirmation of a person who received a message
with "xxx-1" in the header, but an empty message body. Then, (in a
panic, because he had heard the alert), he checked his PC for viruses
(the first time he checked his machine in months) and found a
pre-existing virus on his machine. He incorrectly came to the
conclusion that the E-mail message gave him the virus (this particular
virus could NOT POSSIBLY have spread via an E-mail message). This
person then spread his alert.
As of this date, there are no known viruses which can infect merely
through reading a mail message. For a virus to spread some program
must be executed. Reading a mail message does not execute the mail
message. Yes, Trojans have been found as executable attachments to
mail messages, the most notorious being the IBM VM Christmas Card
Trojan of 1987, also the TERM MODULE Worm (reference CIAC Bulletin
B-7) and the GAME2 MODULE Worm (CIAC Bulletin B-12). But this is not
the case for this particular "virus" alert.
If you encounter this message being distributed on any mailing lists,
simply ignore it or send a follow-up message stating that this is a
false rumor.
Karyn Pichnarczyk
CIAC Team
ciac@llnl.gov
WHO IS CIAC?
CIAC is the U.S. Department of Energy's Computer Incident Advisory Capability.
Established in 1989, shortly after the Internet Worm, CIAC provides
various computer security services free of charge to employees and
contractors of the DOE, such as: Incident Handling consulting,
Computer Security Information, On-site Workshops, White-hat Audits.
CIAC is located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is a
part of its Computer Security Technology Center. CIAC is also a
founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security
Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and
coordination among computer security teams worldwide.
CONTACTING CIAC
If you require additional assistance or wish to report a
vulnerability, call CIAC at 510-422-8193, fax messages to 510-423-8002
or send E-mail to ciac@llnl.gov.
ATTENTION: For emergencies and off-hour assistance, CIAC is available 24-hours
a day to DOE and DOE contractors via an integrated voicemail and
SKYPAGE number. To use this service, dial 1-510-422-8193 or
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Previous CIAC Bulletins and other information are available via
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CIAC has several self-subscribing mailing lists for electronic publications:
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You will receive an acknowledgment containing address and initial PIN,
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To subscribe an address which is a distribution list, first subscribe
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set list-name address PIN distribution_list_address
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To be removed from a mailing list, send the following request via
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This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the
United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the
University of California nor any of their employees, makes any
warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or
responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any
information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents
that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference
herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by
trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not
necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or
favoring by the United States Government or the University of
California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not
necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or
the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or
product endorsement purposes.
End of CIAC Notes Number 94-04c 94_12_08
UCRL-MI-119788
-----------------------------------
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1995 22:51:01 CDT
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------------------------------
End of Computer Underground Digest #7.34
************************************