You may have received a message on PHYS-L (dated Thu, 29 Apr 1999 22:25:04
+0000) with an attachment named "HAPPY99.EXE." Do *not* open this
attachment! It will infect your hard drive.
According to a web page at IBM
(http://www.av.ibm.com/BreakingNews/VirusAlert/Happy/), a computer will
send out the HAPPY99.EXE file automatically if it is infected with the Ska
"worm" (a replicating, self-sufficient program that spreads actively across
the Net).
The Ska "worm" won't do anything nasty to your hard drive or anything like
that, but it will do send a copy of "HAPPY99.EXE" to everyone to whom you
send e-mail... and if they should run the "HAPPY99.EXE" program, *their*
computer becomes infected, too. This could really irritate some of your
on-line colleagues, students, and friends! [This is why I never run
programs that people send me unbidden. The dangers are always there.]
If your computer does become infected and you find out how to get rid of
the Ska "worm," take a look at a page
(http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/happy99.worm.html) on the web
site from Symantec (who publish the Norton Utilities programs). It looks
like a pretty easy procedure.