Technetter's:

The information below was taken from the CIAC homepage <http://ciac.llnl.gov/>. 
Anytime a virus is reported it's worth checking CIAC to see if it's reported as
real or a hoax.  I did not include the original TECHNET mail I received because
IMO it furthers the goal of whoever originates these reports: waste alot of
people's time.

<http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html#aol4free> report follows: 

AOL4FREE

AOL4FREE.COM was a program originally written to provide illegal free access to
America Online. The CSI Computer Security Alert reported the following in the
March 1997 issue: 

   "A former Yale computer science student has pleaded guilty to defrauding
   America Online. AOL estimates it lost between $40,000 and $70,000 in
   service charges because the student distributed his computer program,
   AOL4FREE, to hundreds of other users."

Recently, CIAC has been receiving the following warning about an AOL4FREE virus:


********************************************************************************
**
   VIRUS ALERT!!!
     DON'T OPEN E-MAIL NOTING "AOL4FREE"

   Anyone who receives this must sent 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.

********************************************************************************
**
We have not seen a copy of AOL4FREE.COM that exhibits this behavior, nor have we
been able to locate anyone who has. Therefore, we believe this is a hoax. If
anyone can send us a copy, we would be glad to do an evaluation of it. Note that
while we believe this message is a hoax, it is possible to create a Trojan
program
that does all the things described in the warning except activation by READING
an
E-mail message. The Trojan would have to be mailed and executed as an
attachment.
CIAC still affirms that reading E-mail, using typical mail agents, can not
activate malicious code delivered in or with the message. It is ALWAYS
recommended
that attachments be scanned with virus software prior to running them on your
computer. Note that most antivirus software does not detect Trojans, so it is
important to know where your software came from before executing it. 

end of AOL4FREE report

Ellsworth D. Berkowitz, P.E.
Member Technical Staff
Paradyne Corporation

voice: 813-530-8121
fax: 813-532-5646
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
snail mail: 8545 126th Avenue North; MS LG-117; Largo, FL USA 33773

***********************************************************************
The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the writer and do not
        necessarily reflect the views of Paradyne Corporation.
***********************************************************************

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