WSJ, November 15, 1995 America Online to Warn Users About Bad E-Mail Vienna, Va. -- It's a case of myth becoming reality in the digital age. America Online Inc. plans to warn subscribers of a damaging piece of electronic mail that could corrupt their computers' hard drives. The existence of the destructive file follows a long-term hoax that has been dogging AOL for months. Last year, a user began circulating a warning about a "Good Times" virus that would crash users' PCs if they so much as read the piece of electronic mail. AOL, the Federal Communications Commission and the Pentagon repeatedly had to label the alleged virus a hoax. But the new file is all too real. The destructive file, attached to electronic mail, has been circulated through the on-line service and the Internet. Receiving the e-mail wouldn't harm a user's computer, but trying to run the attached file, known as AOL Gold or "install.exe," could render a hard drive inoperable, an AOL spokeswoman said. The company said it has notified various computer-security agencies about the program. AOL also plans to post a letter for its four million users strongly urging them to forgo "downloading attached files from people you don't know." Security experts fear that such Trojan Horses will proliferate as programs become easier to attach to electronic mail and the use of networks grows. -----