Hoax Viruses

["Ross McConchie" <rgmcc@ozemail.com.au>]

Aus loco discussion mailing list

Apologies to all, but this subject really gets to me.

Might I suggest that people do NOT post ANY virus warnings!

In my job as a IT area manager I have NEVER seen ANY warnings that were NOT
for hoax viruses, and the IT areas knows all about them already.

I might also suggest that :
a)  News programs are not the most accurate information sources (think about
the variations in casualty reports for the recent IP crash);
b) Writing a computer program (let alone a virus, which by definition is
small) that can "totally wipe out" your hard disk is possible, but not easy;
c) If you think about it, every day of the year is an important date for
something (anniversary of John Lennon's death = Lennon Virus?) - so the
suggestion that a virus "is coming" on a set date can be applied to any
date, which makes such notices a little bit suspect.
d) People who want to cause chaos don't usually advertise.
e) People whose job it is to stop people who want to cause chaos generally
use official channels to send out warnings - not word of mouth (even email -
can you imagine the red tape to get that approved!) and not sensational news
items.

Please can we have no more on the subject and concentrate on trains! (Please
don't send "I agree" messages).

Apologies to the list manager.

Ross McConchie
Canberra


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