For an electronic virus-free new year, listen to Gerald I. Isaacson, who oversees the security of computer information at MIT.
His tip: Subscribe to MITVIRUS.
The service provides warnings about PC and Macintosh viruses that are either active on campus or potentially dangerous, Mr. Isaacson says.
MITVIRUS is available to any MIT community member by sending e-mail to
In the text body type SUBSCRIBE MITVIRUS followed by your name- "your real name, not your user ID," Mr. Isaacson said. Follow the same procedure to unsubscribe, he said, but he can't imagine why anyone would want to.
MITVIRUS provides news about the latest versions of the anti-virus packages used at MIT. The PC package, which is where most viruses occur, is F-PROT. It is available to students, faculty and individuals at no charge and for any MIT-owned machine through a site license that is maintained by the Information Security Office. The software is available at the MIT Computer Connection in the Student Center, on the public server and via Net-Dist, Mr. Isaacson said.
"The MITVIRUS list also gets automatic feeds from the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) at Carnegie-Mellon. CERT alerts to Trojan horses, viruses and security holes in a number of platforms in use on campus," he said. For more information, Mr. Isaacson can be reached at
He advised anyone who thinks he or she has a virus and needs immediate help to call the microcomputer help line , x3-0001, or send an e-mail message to
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on January 11, 1995.
