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Re: Happy'99



On Sun, 5 Dec 1999, Ernest Snavely wrote:
> 
> The happy''99 trashed my computer and I am now on another one.  My son
> identified it during a transfer of files into his computer which had an
> antivirus program in it.  I have no idea how I downloaded it but it
> started out making my computer operate 3 times slower.     

Carolinabirders:

Happy99 is a "worm" program. It normally appears as an attachment to 
an e-mail, and is activated when the attached file is opened. As this is 
the case with nearly all e-mail viruses, it is wise to never open an 
attachment unless you are expecting one; that's the e-mail equivalent of 
accepting packages from strangers in airports, or giving out your credit 
card number to people who call you on the phone. Happy99 appears to have 
been transmitted along with Mike Tove's message about the extended 
Memorial Day pelagics; Mike, Ernest, and anyone else affected will have 
to do some work to get it out of their hard drives. Anyone who opened an 
attachment which came along with Mike's e-mail, or who has e-mail 
software that automatically opens attachments for you, should immediately 
check and make sure that they have not also been infected before sending 
anyone e-mail. Lucky for me, PINE (the software I'm using) seems to 
transform Happy99 into a separate e-mail containing the program code 
rather than as an active attached program.

Mike, Ernest, and anyone else infected with Happy99 should visit an 
antivirus website for instructions on how to restore their computers, 
unless they or their friends already know what to do. Some possibly 
helpful sites are:

http://www.stiller.com/happy99.htm

http://www.symantec.com/region/uk/avcenter/venc/happy99_worm.html

http://www.Europe.Datafellows.com/news/1999/19990129.htm

http://www.av.ibm.com/AlertFrame/alertframe.html

http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACVirusDatabase.html

Good luck!

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Zoology

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/