It's time the media started labeling these viruses correctly!

From: Jim Warren <jwarren@well.com> 5/19/00

The media didn't call the World Trade Towers bomb, "the Ryder Truck bomb."They didn't call the Unibomber bombs, "US Postal Service bombs."

They should stop mislabeling computer viruses by their *innocent* carrier -- the Internet.

They should start labeling them what they are: "Microsoft Outlook Express virus" or "Microsoft Explorer virus" or "Microsoft Word macro virus (reputedly the single largest source of viruses for years!)."

Or more briefly -- and accurately -- just call each one, "the latest Microsoft virus."

Let's ask the major media, below, for some *truth* in labeling -- giving "credit" where credit really is due. Let's ask them to stop shooting the messenger, and start naming the real origin -- the errors and dangers that Microsoft has built into its products for *years*.

CNN : http://www.cnn.com/feedback/
CNNfn : http://cnnfn.com/resources/email.html
ABC : http://abcnews.go.com/service/Help/abc_contactus.html
CNBC : http://www.cnbc.com/misc/feedback.asp
CBS : http://cbsnews.cbs.com/ and click on "Feedback" in the lefthand column

NBC : Nightly News, email to: nightly@nbc.com
Fox : News Channel, email to: comments@foxnews.com
Email all three at once

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

NEW YORK TIMES : "Letters" Editor, email to: letters@nytimes.com

WASHINGTON POST : email to: webnews@washpost.com
and click on http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/letterstotheeditor/

LOS ANGELES TIMES : http://www.latimes.com/siteservices/talk_contacts.htm

WALL STREET JOURNAL : "Letters" Editor, email to: l etter.editor@edit.wsj.com

--jim, Jim Warren; jwarren@well.com
Contributing Editor & technology public-policy columnist, MicroTimes Magazine
Also GovAccess list-owner/editor; 345 Swett Rd, Woodside CA 94062
voice/650-851-7075; fax-disconnected-"for"-spam

[self-inflating puff: Hugh Hefner First-Amendment Award, Playboy Foundation; Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award (in its first year); James Madison Freedom-of-Information Award, Soc.of Prof.Journalists-Nor.Calif founded InfoWorld; the Computers, Freedom & Privacy Conferences; etc etc etc.]

STATISTICS FROM ANTI-VIRUS RESEARCHERS
A MUST READ from Gene Spafford - a real security expert

FYI: Softletter: Microsoft Still Towers Over Software Industry
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has once again topped the list of the largest and most profitable software companies in the US.
--The Redmond giant has taken first place in the Softletter 100 after generating almost USD22 billion in revenues last year, or USD628,903 in sales per employee.
--Microsoft's revenues accounted for 69 percent of the combined total revenues of the Softletter 100 companies. The company employs 48 percent of the combined total employees of the top 100.
--Novell had USD1.3 billion in revenues and came second on the list. Adobe was third, with just over USD1 billion. Intuit was 4th with USD992 million and Autodesk came 5th with USD820 million.
-- Intuit had the highest growth rate in 1999 at 48 percent. Symantec was second with 29 percent.
-- Many companies vanished from the list in 1999 as mergers and acquisitions occurred at a furious rate. Netscape, acquired by AOL, and Visio, acquired by Microsoft, made the most high profile disappearances.