"The Simpsons" email worm targets Macintosh computers.

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The Simpsons virus for Mac computers

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Greetings from The VACM Team,

While Macintosh users have not been the brunt of email
viruses in the past, that appears to be changing.

THE BOTTOM LINE
---------------------------------
An email worm targeting Macintosh computers mass mails itself to
everyone in the user's address book. The virus causes the user's
browser to bring up an online archive of the popular
U.S. television show, "The Simpsons".

The worm email message reads:

Hundreds of Simpsons episodes were just secretly produced and sent
out on the internet, if this message gets to you, the episodes are
enclosed on the attachment program, which will only run on a
Macintosh. You must have system 9.0 or 9.1 to watch the hilarious
episodes, in high quality. Just download and open it. From, -- To
get random signatures put text files into a folder called "Random
Signatures" into your Preferences folder.

HOW IT WORKS
---------------------------------
Attached to the email is an AppleScript file named Simpsons Episodes.
On MacOS 9.0 or above, if the attachment is opened, the worm installs
itself in the Startup Items folder, directs the browser to
http://www.snpp.com/episodeguide.html (a site offering
archives of various Simpson shows/memorabilia), and then mass
mails itself to all the addresses contained in the user's Outlook
Express and Entourage address books.

According to F-Secure, this email worm affects only Macintosh users.
Windows and Linux users who might receive the worm via
email will not be affected since Windows and Linux are not capable
of running AppleScripts.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO
---------------------------------
Do not open the attachment if you receive this email. If you
get infected, you can remove the virus from your system
by rebooting your system with the extensions turned off
and then delete the Simpsons Episodes file from
System Folder | Startup Items.

The MacInTouch web site provides a log of the worm's initial
discovery and follow-up commentary from readers, along
with additional advice for manually removing the worm
from the system. MacInTouch is at:

http://www.macintouch.com/simpsonsvirus.html

In Closing...
-----------------------------------------
That's all for this edition. Be careful out there!
And remember:
* be very cautious about following alleged "instructions" for
fixing something. Many well-intentioned people forward
hoaxes, believing that they are helping their friends.
* just because an email comes from someone you
know, it doesn't mean it's virus-free!
* viruses can execute just by opening an email. You don't have
to double-click on attachments to get infected by the new
breed of email viruses
* when in doubt, don't even open, just delete
* turn off your email's "Preview" window. Leaving it on
is the same as opening every email you click on.

Be safe: Keep your antivirus software up to date and get the latest news from VACM!

Regards to all,

Marc Deschenes, The VACM Project
vacm@apcsnh.com

PS- We are still accepting subscriptions to our FREE
"Virus Alerts For The Common Man Newsletter". If you know of
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and the email address(es) in the body of the message.

Best Regards,
Marc Deschenes, VACM Editor
The VACM Project at
Automated PC Solutions

*** Be sure to check out the appendix at the end of this alert
if you are having trouble booting your computer into "Safe Mode".
The process is all spelled out for you there.

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******** APPENDIX - Handy How-To Tips **********

* How To Boot into Safe Mode

Shut the computer down so that the power is off.

Turn the computer on, wait 1 second and begin pressing the F8 key
on the keyboard, once every second repeatedly. Do this until
the Windows Startup Menu appears. If you get a keyboard
error, press F1 to resume and then continue pressing the
F8 key once every second, or your PC may tell you to press another key for BIOS setup.

Select Safe Mode from the Windows Startup Menu, then press
the Enter key on the keyboard.

Windows will then boot into Safe Mode.
NOTE: This may take longer than a normal boot.

At the end of the boot process a dialog box will appear
informing you that Windows is in Safe Mode. Click OK on this dialog box.

Windows is now in Safe Mode.

If you miss hitting the F8 at the right time, Windows will boot
normally and you will not see the "Safe Mode" message. In this
case, start from the top of these instructions until you get the
boot menu screen where you can choose "Safe Mode". This can be
a little tricky the first time you do it.