Sending a virus is sick!
The reason for this article is to make people aware that some attachments that come with your e-mail may be infected with a virus that can reek havoc on your computer. These viruses can come from people you know and trust. They aren't all from unknown sources. I have had this happen twice so far and from people I thought I could trust. Neither virus was the latest "Goner" virus that was in the news.
Last August I had some correspondence with Bill Walker regarding a Miami News Article. During the last part of November I receive an e-mail from him regarding the same topic. The subject line was Re: Miami News Article. There was no message just an attachment that contained a virus. It was some kind of MP3 player. In any case the virus was an auto/x-wav file that contained a w32 virus. According to virus info sheets, this virus attacks EXE and program files rendering your computer useless. I sent the e-mail back to Walker with a note saying that if this virus was sent from his computer he should have it checked and fixed. At the time of this writing, which is now over a week later, I have not heard from him.
The second incident occurred on 12/6/01. The message was from a USD committee person. It contained a note and an attachment. The attachment was an octet-stream file with a W32.Magistr.39921 virus that could crash your computer. I forwarded the message back to the sender with a note just as I did with Walker. I couldn't believe that this person would knowingly send me a virus. Within hours, I received an apology from this person, which restored my faith and trust.
How is it that one person can respond so quickly with an apology and the other one hasn't? What would be the reason for sending a computer virus? In many cases the sender may not be aware of the infection until their computer doesn't function properly, which was the case in one of the above situations. However I, like many who have recently received infected e-mails, am very suspicious of the motives of the leadership. Since 1998 I have been calling attention to various issues that have arisen under this administration. Since the beginning I have been given false hope and/or non-truths. I believe that these issues are something that the administration doesn't want too many people to know. As time goes on, many others are finding reasons not to trust this leadership. By airing my opinions on various matters, I believe that I have become both a target and a stumbling block for them. I believe that they are trying to prevent me from airing my views because it is hindering the progress they would like to see. Freedom of speech doesn't seem to be a part of US Diving. There are and will be repercussions if you don't follow their lead without questioning their motives. Maybe that fear of reprisal is what keeps others from speaking out.