Date:  Thu, 21 Dec 1995 11:23:06 -0600

From:  Katherine Catmull <kate[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BGA.COM>

Subject: Re: P.S. re the Long Message



>Granted this is somewhat off the subject of this list, but perhaps others

>are as computer-naive as I am and would appreciate some enlightenment,

>namely: 1) What is "the first screen"?



Some messages are short enough that they are contained within the screen

that opens when you read a message. Others are longer, and you have to

scroll down past the first screen to read the whole message.





and 2) While my ignorance of how

>to do it would prevent my decoding and downloading the binary file and I

>wouldn't have had the interest in this one to prompt me to find out,

>nevertheless I don't know why it would have been unwise.



A decoded & downloaded binary file can become an "executable file"--that

is, a piece of software. An executable can contain a virus, if the person

who sent it (or the person he or she got it from) is malicious enough to

have planted one. A virus could, for example, erase your entire hard drive,

or other unpleasant things.



Kate Catmull