G o o d T i m e s V i r u s H o a x
Mini FAQ

by Les Jones
macfaq@aol.com
lesjones@usit.net

October 12, 1995

This information can be freely reproduced in any medium, as long as the information is unmodified.

A FAQ, if you're new to the Internet, is a document that answers Frequently Asked Questions. This Mini FAQ is a summary of, and a reference to, the full FAQ, which has much more information about this and other hoaxes. Instructions for retrieving the full FAQ are at the end of this message. The Mini FAQ is short enough for faxes, message boards, company memos, and people with short attention spans.

Is the Good Times email virus a hoax?

Yes. It's a hoax.

America Online, government computer security agencies, and makers of anti-virus software have declared Good Times a hoax. See Online References at the end of the FAQ.

The hoax has been around since at least November of 1994. Since that time, no copy of the alleged virus has ever been found, nor has there been a single verified case of a viral attack.

I'm new to the Internet. What is the Good Times virus hoax?

The story is that a virus called Good Times is being carried by email. Just reading a message with "Good Times" in the subject line will erase your hard drive, or even destroy your computer's processor. Needless to say, it's a hoax, but a lot of peopl e believed it.

Some of the companies that have reportedly fallen for the hoax include AT&T, CitiBank, NBC, Hughes Aircraft, Texas Instruments, and dozens or hundreds of others. There have been outbreaks at numerous colleges.

The U.S. government has not been immune. Some of the government agencies that have reportedly fallen victim to the hoax include the Department of Defense, the FCC, and NASA.

The full Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ has more information about the origins of the hoax, and variations on the text of the hoax.

What was the CIAC bulletin?

On December 6, 1994, the U.S. Department of Energy's CIAC (Computer Incident Advisory Capability) issued a bulletin declaring the Good Times virus a hoax and an urban legend. The bulletin was widely quoted as an antidote to the hoax. The original docu ment can be found at the address in Online References at the end of the mini FAQ, and is included verbatim in the full FAQ. CIAC issued another bulletin on April 24, 1995 to reiterate that Good Times is a hoax.

Online References

CIAC Notes 94-05 95-09, and especially 94-04 FTP to ciac.llnl.gov and look in the pub/ciac/notes directory. The URL is ftp://ciac.llnl.gov/pub/notes/

The URL for the CIAC home page on the World Wide Web is: http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/

America Online's official statement

keyword "virus2" on America Online

Where can I find the complete Good Times Virus Hoax FAQ?

Via FTP:

FTP to usit.net and look in the pub/lesjones directory. The URL is ftp://usit.net/pub/lesjones/good-times-virus-hoax-faq.txt ftp://users.aol.com/macfaq/good-times-virus-hoax-faq.txt

On the World Wide Web:

http://www.tcp.co.uk/tcp/good-times/index.html -- excellent hypertext
http://www.singnet.com.sg/staff/lorna/Virus -- lots of virus info (Note: the V must be capitalized.)

On America Online:

the file libraries at keyword "virus"

By email:

send email to archive@xconn.com with REQUEST GT_VIRUS.TXT in the subject line.

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