Date:         Thu, 16 Dec 1999 19:50:31 -0500
Reply-To:     Bulley <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bulley <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Millenium Viruses

Okay, You guys and gals know I ain't scared of much...but it is because I
live under the Boy Scout motto of "Be Prepared".

One of my primary clients is a large "systems integrator" in Washington,
D.C. These are the people who have (in many cases) FIXED the Y2K bug for a
number of very sensitive systems in our country. I agree, a temporary
shut-down of Gerry might not be a bad idea.

I share the below (confidential) quote from an internal e-mail, sanitizing
it from any identifying data, so that we might better understand that the
Y2K bug is far less of a threat, and the Y2K virus plague may be more of a
threat. This is from a company that is at the cutting edge of this problem.
Helpful tips for computer prep are included. Our community is based on
trust, and I ask only that you DO NOT FORWARD this message, in part or in
whole. I might be violating some tenant by sharing.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
As XYZ Company prepares to transition to the year 2000, there are several
steps that all XYZ Company staff should plan on taking, both before leaving
work the last day of 1999, and upon returning to work after New Years Day.

All important files you have created locally on your PC should be
compressed and backed up to external media (floppy diskettes, ZIP drives,
Jaz Drives, CDs, file servers, etc.) -- do not back up software
applications or system files

The latest virus signature files for your anti-virus software should be
downloaded and installed on your PC daily beginning in late December

Upon returning to work on after the New Years holiday, check that your PC
has rolled over to the appropriate January 2000 date.  Contact your local
help desk if you are having problems.

Since we can expect that the millennium rollover will also cause a
significantly higher incidence of new virus attacks than usual, you must be
especially diligent in keeping your anti-virus software signature files up
to date -- new signature files will likely be released daily beginning in
late December, as compared to about once per week in the recent past.

You should also be especially careful of any attachments you receive.  Best
practice is to detach attachments, virus test them, and then open them with
the appropriate application.  Launching them immediately as attachments as
from an E-mail message is to be avoided at all times if there is any
possibility of the files being infected.   Remember, even people you work
with all the time might accidentally transmit new strains of computer
viruses if they are not equally careful.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The point being: don't sweat the power going off. Back up your stuff to be
safe. Get good virus protection and keep it updated.
G. Matthew Bulley
Bulley-Hewlett
Corporate Communications Counselors
www.bulley-hewlett.com
Cary, NC USA
888.468.4880 tollfree

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-----Original Message-----
From:   Davidson [SMTP:wdavidson@THEGRID.NET]
Sent:   Thursday, December 16, 1999 7:00 PM
To:     vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject:        Millenium Viruses

Here's a thought to kick around:
I read in the Wall Street Journal today that the bigger concern (bigger
than
the millenium date bug) for January 1, 2000 is the potential for computer
viruses that are triggered by the turn of the millenium. Seems that there
are those who would like to create havoc to start off the new millenium.
Software companies that specialize in hunting down and fixing viruses have
already found hundreds of them set to go off at midnight, and they expect
there are possibly hundreds that they have not found. Many of these viruses
are created to mimic the Y2K date bug so as to make them harder to solve
(and give them longer to do their damage). Several large companies are
shutting down their email systems for the weekend.
So my thought is this:
It seems that it might be prudent for the list administrator to shut the
list down sometime on the 31st. Then on the weekend he could check for
viruses before allowing the server to send us email. So what do you guys
think?
Bill