This virus is very real.  I won't attempt to quote all my sources, but it
has been in the news since Friday, and being carried by all the news wire
services.
 
My local newspaper ran it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  My son is the
creator/general manager of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with over
50,000 subscribers.  He was interviewed by our newspaper about it, and the
article ran on the front page.
 
He, being in the business he is in, has downplayed viruses in the past.  But
he no longer opens attachments to e-mail, even from me.  Neither do I,
unless it is one I am expecting.  Microsoft started work in this virus
connected to Word 97 on Friday and are hoping to come up with a solution
today.  It won't hurt your computer, but is surely in danger of clogging up
the pipeline on the Internet.
 
One of the biggest sources of these viruses are people who forward jokes to
other people and do mass mailings.  I was on an acquaintance's list for a
while until I asked that he remove me.  The jokes originated on AOL, and
sometimes I would go through 6 to 8 "forward" messages before getting down
to the message.  Beware of these.
 
Sylvia Edwards
Huntsville, AL
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