Another piece of virus hoax boilerplate ... feel free to use any or all
of it, if it meets your needs.

-- pdr

----- begin boilerplate -----
The "xxxxxxxxxxxxx" virus alert is a hoax. For additional information
about this hoax, see the following pages:

        (list of URL's for this hoax)

There are a number of factors to consider in determining the validity of
a virus alert, but most of them fall into one of two categories: origin
and content. The recipient of a virus alert should ask him/herself the
following questions:

* Where did the warning originate? Is the sender known by me to be both
  knowledgeable and reliable in this area?

  If you receive a virus alert from anyone other than your Help Desk or
  system administrator, or another trusted source, you should verify the
  authenticity of the message. If you are unable to do so, you should
  refer the matter to your Help Desk or system administrator.

* Does the warning state that you should forward it to everyone who
  has Internet access?

  This is, in my opinion, a dead give-away that the message is a hoax.

  Most legitimate warnings are sent to system administrators, Help Desk
  staff, and other technical support personnel who have explicitly
  requested this type of information, and who can be expected to notify
  all affected users within their own organizations. In some cases,
  legitimate warnings may be sent directly to registered users of
  affected products. The sender of a legitimate warning will never
  rely on a "chain-letter" mechanism for delivery of the message.

* Does the warning state or imply that every recipient - regardless of
  the type of computer and email software that he or she is using - is
  susceptible to the attack, and that the virus will be activated just
  by opening the email message?

  To the best of my knowledge, there is no known virus that will run on
  every type of computer and with every type of email software, so an
  alert which states or implies that this is the case, is probably a
  hoax. Having said this, I must add some caveats.

  * Java and Active-X technologies have made it possible to create
    applications of all types, including viruses, that may run on
    different types of computers and that may be launched automatically
    when a message or document is opened by an application that supports
    these technologies.

  * Macro viruses attach themselves to documents created by a particular
    application, such as MSWord. They are spread when infected documents
    are shared - usually as email attachments - with other users of the
    same application.

  You can reduce your risk of susceptibility to these types of attacks
  by installing and using virus protection software, by using viewers to
  open documents from unknown or untrusted sources, and by configuring
  your email and browser software so that Java and Active-X applications
  are not launched automatically. If you are unsure of how to do any of
  these, you should request assistance from your Help Desk or system
  administrator.
----- end boilerplate -----

--
Paul Russell
Senior Systems Administrator
University of Notre Dame