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                            VIRUS REPORT         
                           Christmas Card        
                    

Date of Origin: December, 1987.

Host Machine: IBM E-mail system.

     This virus circulated a Christmas greeting throughout IBM's
worldwide E-mail system in December, 1987.  The virus overloaded the
network, forcing IBM to shut it down temporarily.<Note: Knight-Ridder
News Service, "For Many Users, `Viruses' are Nothing New" reprinted in
The Washington Post, November 28, 1988, p. F25.>  The virus was sent by
a West German law student to friends through a local European academic
research network. The virus told the receiver's computer to display the
greeting, then quietly send the virus and message to everyone on the
recipient's regular electronic mailing list.  It turned out that someone
on the list had special, restricted access to IBM's E-mail network of
several thousand computers in 145 countries.  IBM has since modified
their system to make repetition improbable.<Note: Philip J. Hilts,
"Computers Face Epidemic of `Information Diseases'; Malicious
Programmers Spread Destructive Bits of Bogus Instructions Across the
World" The Washington Post, May 8, 1988, p. A3.>


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  This document was adapted from the book "Computer Viruses",       
  which is copyright and distributed by the National Computer       
  Security Association. It contains information compiled from       
  many sources. To the best of our knowledge, all information       
  presented here is accurate.                                       
                                                                    
  Please send any updates or corrections to the NCSA, Suite 309,    
  4401-A Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008. Or call our BBS  
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  The NCSA is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving      
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  year. Copies of the book "Computer Viruses", which provides       
  detailed information on over 145 viruses, can be obtained from    
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            The document is copyright (c) 1990 NCSA.                
                                                                    
  This document may be distributed in any format, providing         
  this message is not removed or altered.                           
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