An Open Letter

Dear Friends of Mine —

Thank you but I have now received quite enough copies of the w.32.Klez.H virus.  You all seem to have it and, while I appreciate your generosity and eagerness to share it with me, I must respectfully decline.  I have not even been receiving your swell, unsolicited and perhaps unintentional gifts.  Fifty-some times in the last few weeks, the Norton AntiVirus program that I have installed on my computer has alerted me that an e-mail has been sent to me containing said virus.  Each time, it has prevented it from getting through, God bless it.

I don't wish to point fingers or assign blame but it seems to me that simple consideration for others on this World Wide Web would suggest that you should have such a program installed.  Nothing personal but I think it is bonehead stupid not to have a good anti-virus scanner on your computer, just for your own sake.  Add in the likelihood that you will probably someday not only get a virus but spread it to others and we have a situation where you can be both foolishly self-destructive and inconsiderate to others at the same time.

Even with proper protection, you might contract and spread a computer virus.  There are no Zero Defect defenses, and many worms and trojans, like the w.32.Klez.H will use your computer to spread themselves to others without your knowledge.  That one searches your computer for e-mail addresses and sends a random file from your hard disk to any addresses it finds, accompanied by a disguised version of the virus.  Without you even lifting a finger, your friends may receive e-mail from you and open it and contract the virus.  (Some of these noxious booby-traps even spoof the "From" address so the virus may not have come from the person the e-mail seems to be from.)

So it is impossible to be 100% safe.  Nevertheless, we could cut way, way down on these if everyone would at least make the effort and install anti-virus software.  You can download a trial copy of Norton AntiVirus by clicking here.  And if you have that nasty old w.32.Klez.H virus, you can rid yourself of it by downloading this program.  If you won't do it for others, at least do it for yourself.  Better still, do it for me.  I'm sick of getting pipebombs in my e-mailbox.

Thanks…
me

P.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney just announced that the Bush Administration had advance knowledge of the w.32.Klez.H virus.  And Vice-President Dick Cheney just accused the Democratic party of playing politics with the accusation instead of doing something patriotic like passing large tax cuts for Texas-based energy producers.