Mario I. Arguello wrote:

> excuse my ignorance but what is Linux and what does it have to do with
> the new worm virus?

  Linux is freeware UNIX, written co-operatively by many of the best
contemporary systems programmers in the world.  As a result, it is
rather stable and reliable.

  UNIX was again, written by many of the best systems programmers in the
world, mostly in universities, to facilitate simultaneous multi-user use
by *students*.  Consequently, with that degree of exhaustive testing, it
is nothing if not *secure* and *robust*!  MS-DOS was inspired by Unix,
as IIRC M$-Windows was from X-Windows, but the inspiration rapidly
evaporated early on.

  The implication is that by and large, the concept of a "virus" cannot
relate to Linux (Un*x).  When you talk about virii, or *problems* due to
virii, Linux users always laugh derisively.

  Your "ignorance" will be short-lived.  You are going to hear a *lot*
more about Linux in the near future.
--
  Cheers,
        Paul B.