This information was received April 30, 1997 from IBM, please share it
with anyone who might access the Internet.
Reference to an organization that has nothing to do with viruses. Request
to spread it further. Forwarded from somewhere else.
If anyone receives e-mail from 'PENPAL GREETINGS!' please delete it
W-I-T-H-O-U-T reading it!
Claims that it is spread by e-mail.
This is a warning for all INTERNET users - there is a dangerous virus
being spread across the INTERNET through an e-mail message entitled
'PENPAL GREETINGS!
Contradicts itself. Above it says the message is FROM
'PENPAL GREETINGS!'. Here it says it is TITLED
'PENPAL GREETINGS!'
*DO NOT* DOWNLOAD ANY MESSAGE ENTITLED 'PENPAL GREETINGS!'
This message appears to be a friendly letter asking you if you are
interested in a penpal, but by the time you read the letter, it is too
late. The 'Trojan Horse' virus will have already infected the boot sector
of your hard drive, destroying all of the data present. It is a
self-replicating virus and once the message is read, it will AUTOMATICALLY
forward itself to anyone whose e-mail address is present in your mailbox!
Technical details which don't make sense. There is no such thing as a Trojan
Horse virus.
This virus will destroy your hard drive, and holds the potential to
destroy the hard drive of anyone whose mail is in your IN BOX and whose
mail is in their in box, and so on.
More technical details which don't make sense: it is impossible for a virus
to damage hardware. It contradicts itself: if it destroys your hard drive, how
can it spread to other computers?
If this virus keeps getting passed,
it has the potential to do a great deal of damage to computer networks
worldwide!!!!
Multiple exclamation marks.
Please delete the message entitled 'PENPAL GREETINGS!' AS SOON AS YOU
SEE IT.
Pass this message along to all of your friends and other readers of the
new group (sic) and mailing lists which you are on so that they are not
hurt by this dangerous virus!!!!!
Request to pass it along. Multiple exclamation marks. The reference to
"new group".