
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, November 17, 1995                   TAG: 9511170067
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VIRUS VIA E-MAIL LURKS ON INTERNET

Anonymous hackers are distributing a destructive computer virus that, once installed, erases the contents of any computer hard drive on the Internet and the commercial on-line services.

The virus - nicknamed ``AOLGold'' or ``install.exe'' - has been spotted on the Internet and the America Online commercial on-line service this week, according to Kathy Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Vienna, Va.-based service.

``This is not AOL specific,'' said Johnson. ``But we were notified by a member late Tuesday, and we moved quickly to keep our members informed so that they can protect themselves.''

Wednesday, America Online officials issued a bulletin to its 4 million members and notified the federal agencies in charge of investigating computer viruses.

The AOLGold virus works quite simply. It arrives as a file attached to an e-mail message, usually labeled AOLGold or ``install.exe,'' company officials said. Because it is a Trojan horse-type virus, meaning it will only work if it is installed into a computer, AOLGold is only activated if the file is downloaded.

AOL officials stressed that no damage can occur from reading e-mail, which is the most popular usage of computers on commercial on-line services and the Internet.

by CNB