I know there is a lot out on the net about these viruses but just making sure here by sending info at the bottom of this msg. I am not a guru so you need to check at some official sites. Melissa virus is not a hoax. The virus is in the form of a .doc extension attachment, they say. Do not open the attachment. happy99.exe is not a hoax. This is a pretty fireworks, they say. Do not open the attachment. Both can be received by you and sent by you and you won't know you have it or have sent it on until someone tells you. I have recd two happy99.exe, luckily "on" an email and not as an attachment so didn't infect anything. The first person didn't know they had it and have it cleaned up now. I haven't had time to tell the second person. I am sure they don't know they sent it. Below is the stuff on melissa. (A note: "they say" the person who created melissa has been caught.) Both are fixable so not to panic. Yes, you need virus checkers. McAfee or Norton are good checkers. I have both and run my attachments thru them before opening. Gloria - ------------------------------ To: The Screen Savers <<mailto:the_screen_savers@mail.zdlists.com Date: Saturday, March 27, 1999 10:26 PM Subject: The Screen Savers Today - Urgent Extra Hi, this is Leo writing to you with an urgent virus warning. We don't normally send you mail on Sundays, but there's a new email virus we thought you should know about, not because it's destructive, but because it spreads so rapidly. This virus can affect anyone who uses Microsoft Word. And if you use Outlook 97 or 98 as your email program, you could be spreading it unwittingly. The virus is a Word macro virus called Melissa. As currently propagated, it arrives in your email as a message with the subject "Important Message from" and the name of someone you may well know. The body of the message contains "Here is that document you asked for ... don't show anyone else ;-)". The virus payload is contained in an attached Microsoft Word document. Don't open that Word document! Once you do, if you use Outlook for your email the virus will attempt to send infected messages to the top 50 names in your address book. Those people may also become infected if they open the attached Word document. Because the virus lives in a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) module, it can easily be moved to any other Microsoft Office product, including Excel, Access, and Powerpoint. The virus is contained the Word document, not the email message itself, so you can't rely on the email message alone as a way to know if you've received the virus. Because this virus immediately sends 50 copies of itself to your friends on activation, we believe it may be the fastest spreading virus we've ever seen. That's why we're taking the unusual step of sending you this message. What to do now: * Don't open email attachments, even if they're from someone you know. It is perfectly safe to read the contents of the email, however (unless you're using Word as your email reader). It's the attached documents that pose a risk. * Update your anti-virus software. Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee both have updates that detect Melissa and prevent infection. If you're using another product check with your vendor for updates. What to do in general: * Always keep your anti-virus product up-to-date * Be careful about opening files attached to email, even if you know the person who sent it. For more information about this virus visit: http://www.zdnn.com http://www.zdnn.com http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/mailissa.html http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/mailissa.html Sorry to bother you on a Sunday, but I thought you'd want to know about this. Thanks for watching The Screen Savers! Leo Laporte Host/Managing Editor The Screen Savers ZDTV = And check the URL's that I included in the last message. CERT information about the Melissa virus is available on the Web at http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-99-04-Melissa-Macro-Virus.html. Microsoft has a patch available at http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-002.asp. ----------------------------------------