Someone had told him that the only way to protect himself was not to turn on his PC that day. I told him and his listeners to relax. Although it is true that the Hare virus is capable of wiping out all the data on your hard disk, the odds of your having it are very low. Sure enough, by the end of the day there were few reported cases of Hare virus attacks. Nevertheless, I expect another rash of calls on Sept. 22, when the virus is set to strike again.
Virus alerts occur several times a year.
I get similar calls every March 6, which is Michelangelo's birthday and the day the Michelangelo virus is set to strike. Although Michelangelo is more prevalent than Hare, neither is among the 10 most commonly reported viruses. Yet the attention they get serves as a good reminder that it's important to take precautions against viruses in general. First the basics. A computer virus is a program or file designed to do damage or simply annoy or even amuse the person whose machine is infected.