---Original Message-----
From: Shane Nelson <i@cheetah.spots.ab.ca>
To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Date: Friday, 8 August 1997 15:52
Subject: Re: WARNING virus info



>I've always wondered why people don't
>realize that the "virus warning"
>email message is really the virus.
>The only damage, is caused by
>warning everyone you know.
>
>If reading a message could erase your
>hard drive, I don't think email would
>be so popular. Mailing
>lists like this one would be virtually
>non-existent, for fear of opening that
>hard drive eating message.
>

Yes.  wouldn't really need to be a virus for email.  An attached file would
do.  But how many ppl open up an attached file, find it to be an exe/com/bat
file, and then click on open/execute?  The few that ignore the warning
messages that this generates receive a short, salutary lesson.

example attachment...

MikeS
<mikesmith_oz@relaymail.net>

Content-Type: application/octet-stream;
        name="format.bat"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: attachment;
        filename="format.bat"

Attachment converted: wonderland:format.bat (????/----) (00003E7B)