[ MMD gets occasional e-mail, warning of computer threats, etc.
 [ These chain letters are malicious hoaxes, and their express intent
 [ is to cause alarm.  This article is adapted from advisories
 [ published internally by my employer, Lockheed Martin Co.

One of the greatest computer problems today is not malicious software
(viruses or Trojan Horses), but instead hoaxes warning of destructive
e-mail or impending attacks upon the recipients computer or telephone
system.

These hoaxes are responsible for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD)
rather than actual destruction or intrusion.  In practice, they take
the form of an anonymous chain letter.

Such hoaxes are relatively easy to detect if you know what to look for,
since all share at least three (and often more) of the same common
characteristics:

  Recipients are advised to "send to all friends."
  The originator of the message is not identified.
  No date on the original message.
  No point of contact is identified for further information
    or reporting.
  Warning that destruction is catastrophic, immediate,
    and unrecoverable.
  No means of avoidance is suggested.

Recipients of such e-mail should not distribute them further.  For
more information check the Virus Hoax Listing at the web site of Network
Associates Inc., a vendor of computer and network security services:

    http://www.nai.com/services/support/hoax/hoax.asp

Robbie Rhodes

 [ Incidentally, the Trojan Horses now most commonly reported are
 [ transported as macros imbedded in e-mail attachments of Word
 [ documents or Excel (spreedsheet) documents.  The computer system
 [ is 'infected' only when you open the document for viewing --
 [ if you don't open the attached document, nothing can happen.
 [ Use a virus checker regularly when you receive and view documents
 [ which may contain imbedded macros.  -- Robbie