The Doctor wants you to calm down

Rob Rosenberger, Vmyths co-founder
Wednesday, 25 February 1998 I PRAISED SOLOMON'S last year for a press release urging people to remain calm on April Fool's Day. Time for another compliment — a press release issued today debunks the annual hysteria surrounding Michelangelo. "Every year it's the same," the press release begins. "As March [6th] approaches the technical support department at Dr Solomon's Software ... is inundated with calls from customers and journalists. The reason? They've been panicked by scare stories about the 'dreaded' Michelangelo virus, set to strike on the artist's birthday."

"Other anti-virus companies are trying to scare people into buying anti-virus software."

Yet "Michelangelo is not one of the more commonly encountered viruses — and all that is happening is that other anti-virus companies are trying to scare people into buying anti-virus software." (Actually, no other antivirus firm has mentioned Michelangelo in a press release for at least seven months, but I can easily forgive Solomon's for a little grandstanding.) The press release quotes senior technology consultant Graham Cluley: "Michelangelo was never a big deal and won't be in the future either. We're not expecting any customers to be hit this March 6th with Michelangelo, just like we didn't last year, or the year before. What we're trying to do this year is warn people not to believe the hype! Although the virus can wipe the data on your hard disk it is very rarely encountered." I always find it refreshing when an antivirus press release urges people to calm down. Tally up another point in Solomon's favor.