Dear Windows-Help.NET Subscriber,
Variants of the W97M/Melissa virus, which wracked havoc on networks and PC's in March of this year, continue to spread.
In early October 1999, a variant was discovered called W97M.Melissa.U virus, as well as a W97M.Melissa.V variant. On the 15th of October, W97M.Melissa.U (Gen1) virus was discovered. This is a modified version of the W97M.Melissa.U virus. These two viruses are not the same. According to Symantec's AntiVirus Research Center, it appears to be a corrupted replica of the W97M.Melissa.U virus, however, the modification may have been intentional or it could possibly be an incorrect repair performed by an AntiVirus product.
According to experts, companies have a better handle on these new virus strains than they did on the original Melissa, partly because that virus made people more wary of e-mail attachments.
Again, if you really have to open attachments sent to you by e-mail, get an AntiVirus scanner. We at Windows-Help.NET recommend Norton AntiVirus 2000 6.0 from Symantec for the best security available.
New AMD plant to make 1-GHz copper chips
Last Wednesday AMD announced the opening of a new wafer fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany. Called Fab 30, it's the world's most advanced facility with a total investment of $1.9 billion.
"Today we are dedicating a magnificent new manufacturing facility, the first fab of the new millennium, and the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world," W.J. Sanders III, AMD chairman and chief executive officer said. "Next year, we plan to be producing AMD Athlon processors capable of running at 1 gigahertz, or 1,000 megahertz, here in Dresden. Employing industry-leading copper interconnect technology and 180-nanometer design rules, the 1-gigahertz and faster AMD Athlon processor will continue AMD's leadership in PC processor performance."
Sanders noted that a pre-production version of the AMD Athlon processor, built using the technology being installed in Dresden, achieved speeds in excess of 900 megahertz.
IBM announces 73GB hard drive
IBM keeps upping the stakes in the storage sector. Last May they announced a 36GB drive, this time they announced a 73GB, 10,000 RPM drive!
The disk will steal away the capacity crown from rival Seagate, which has been selling a 50GB drive since last fall. IBM and Seagate are tied for first place in the high-end disk drive market, which currently is growing at the healthy pace of about 17.4 percent per year.
The drive, called Ultrastar 72ZX, will ship in first quarter 2000.
Who is Reading Your Email?
Government has a global surveillance system called Echelon in place that intercepts email, Internet telephony, chatrooms, instant messaging, etc!
Yikes! Recent headlines are shouting that the government has gone too far. A global surveillance system called Echelon is in place that intercepts transmissions of your email, Internet telephone conversations, faxes, instant messages, chatroom chatter and possibly even your surfing habits!
More...
23 Oct. 1999, Vol 2 No. 42