AOL4FREE - Once a Hoax has now become a Trojan Horse.

In the past few weeks an e-mail message has circulated warning users of a destructive AOL4FREE "virus". That message was a hoax. The simple delivery
of an e-mail can not cause system damage. However, recently, someone has created a program capable of deleting files on a hard drive.

What is a Hoax "virus" message?

A Hoax is generally a message that is delivered through e-mail warning the user of a new virus. These messages contain no files attached and are created
to scare users. Often these messages contain information that is false and is unlikely to be constructed on a system. 

AOL4FREE Hoax message is no different, it warns the user about a horrible program that destroys hard drives. This message began appearing in early
April but has become recently popular. Below is a copy of the original Hoax message:

Anyone who recieves this must send it to as many people as you can. It is essential that this problem be reconciled as soon as possible. A few hours ago,
I opened an E-mail that had the subject heading of aol4free.com Within seconds of opening it, a window appeared and began to display my files that
were being deleted. I immediately shut down my computer, but it was too late. This virus wiped me out. It ate the Anti-Virus Software that comes with
the Windows '95 Program along with F-Prot AVS. Neither was able to detect it. Please be careful and send this to as many people as possible, so maybe
this new virus can be eliminated.

However upon seeing this message, someone maliciously created a program that could delete files contained on a hard drive and gave it the same name.
This is the reason for the recent surge of popularity.

If you receive a file either by email or by downloading which contains an attached file named: AOL4FREE.COM

Simply delete the file. Do not execute the program. Due to the construction of AOL4FREE.COM, a remover is unavailable to be created. If the file is
detected delete the program. 

Trojan Horses are not new. They are easy to write and can be very destructive. Trojan Horses are programs that lead you to believe that they are one
thing, however, when executed are completely different. 

The AOL4FREE.COM Trojan Horse has been successful in deleting files and directories from hard drives when the AOL4FREE.COM file is executed
(double-clicked). If the program is started you may be able to stop it by holding down the Ctrl-C keys. Although, some damage is likely to have occurred.

This Trojan Horse will not activate within the Macintosh environment.
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