Solution: Computer viruses are a very real threat to computing today. On the Windows/DOS platform alone, there are over 40,000 known viruses. Macintosh users are much more fortunate, with the total of Macintosh specific viruses numbering to about 40. Viruses are programmed by individuals who hold no regard for other people's property, and care nothing about your computer if it gets wiped out. That's the bad news. The worse news is that there are some individuals out there who find it funny to spread rumors about false viruses, just to muddy the waters a little. These are known as virus hoaxes, and they are not real. The list of virus hoaxes keeps growing, just to make matters worse.

So how are we to know the real viruses from the fakes? First of all, we recommend that all customers keep their anti-virus programs up to date. There are over 100 new, legitimate viruses that emerge each month for the DOS/Windows platform, and Macintosh users can "carry" some of these viruses if they are running Microsoft Office through the "macro" functions in that program. For this reason, we also recommend that Macintosh users have some kind of virus protection as well. If you don't have an anti-virus program, get one. You'll thank yourself later. We recommend either Norton AntiVirus (for either Macintosh or Windows) or Mcafee VirusScan. These can be purchased at the local Wal-Mart or Hastings Books and Video.

So what about the hoaxes? Turn your browser to this link: www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html. This site keeps an updated catalog of the growing list of virus hoaxes. So the next time you receive one of these warnings in the mail, check out the hoax site and see if what you've received is really a false alarm, or if it really is something to worry about.

Some other links that may be of interest regarding viruses are:
 

1. Mac Virus - Homepage that deals with Macintosh viruses and protection.
2. Symantec Anti-Virus Research Center (SARC) - General information and protection from Symantec Corporation, makers of Norton Anti-Virus.
3. Homepage of Network Associates, makers of Mcafee VirusScan
4. Homepage of Craig Schmugar, Programmer of the "Happy99 Cleaner" program - General information about certain viruses; of particular interest is the "Happy99" virus.