This is a hoax. See attached.
 
I think most of these virus alerts are hoaxes, and I 'd be especially
distrustful of any that asked me to forward the alert to everyone I know.
 
-- Seamus Cooney
----------
> VIRUS ALERT
> If you receive an email titled "It Takes Guts to Say Jesus"
> DO NOT OPEN IT!!!!!!!!!1
 
 


From: Seamus Cooney <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: The "Guts to say 'Jesus'" Hoax
To: [log in to unmask]

Relax, people! And add this link to your bookmarks:
http://kumite.com/myths/
It's called the Computer Virus Myths home page.

http://www.stiller.com/guts.htm
--

Seamus Cooney
Professor, Dept. of English, Western Michigan University
1201 Oliver Street, Kalamazoo MI 49008
http://www.wmich.edu/english/fac/Cooney.html


SR News: The "Guts to say 'Jesus'" Hoax



We have seen very little new lately in hoaxes;  mostly rehashes of prior hoaxes (see Old Hoaxes Combined. <comb.htm> ) and this one falls into that category.  I have hesitated to post a specific warning about this hoax because I believed that readers of our hoax page would immediately recognize this is a hoax because it contains so much text stolen from prior hoaxes but sadly this isn't the case.

Note that only the beginning of this hoax contains some new text. But even this "new text" fits into the old hoax pattern started by The "Good Times" Email virus hoax <gtimes.htm> . Where you are warned to avoid a virus by shunning email with some particular title. It also contains the sure-fire hoax indicator of asking you to forward this message to others. (If you see a virus warning like this, you should disregard it.)

Here is the beginning of this hoax: 


VIRUS WARNING !!!!!!!
       If you receive an email titled "It Takes Guts to Say 'Jesus,'" DO
       NOT open it.  It will erase everything on your hard drive.
       Forward this letter out to as many people as you can. This is a
       new, very  malicious virus and not many people know about it.
       This information was announced yesterday morning from IBM; please
       share it with everyone that might  access the Internet. Once
       again, pass this along to EVERYONE in your  address book so that
       this may be stopped.
From this point on, the hoax contains text from the old "Undelivered Mail" hoax: 
       Also, do not open or even look at any mail
       that says "RETURNED OR UNABLE TO DELIVER." This  virus will
       attach itself to your computer components and render them
       useless.  Immediately delete any mail items that say this.

Now the hoax tries to claim some legitimacy by referring to AOL:

       AOL has said that this is a very dangerous virus and that there
       is NO remedy for it at  this time. Please practice cautionary
       measures and forward this to all your online friends ASAP.
There is no such thing as a virus with no remedy. And yet again we see the class hoax sign; a request to "forward this to all your online friends". Anytime you see this in an email, you can assume that the message is a hoax! 

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Document Last Modified January 15, 1999.