From the December 1996 edition of the FBI's Law Enforcement Bulletin in an article entitled "Computer Crime: An Emerging Challenge for Law Enforcement" by David L. Carter, Ph.D. and Andra J. Katz, Ph.D.:
Virus Introduction
Computer viruses, created for a variety of reasons, can have many different effects, depending on the creator's intent. To illustrate, several new insidious viruses have been found.
"Gingrich" randomly converts word processing files into legalese often found in contracts. Victims can combat this virus by typing their names at the bottom of infected files, thereby signing them, as if signing a contract.
"Clipper" scrambles all the data on a hard drive, rendering it useless.
"Lecture" deliberately formats the hard drive, destroying all data, then scolds the user for not catching it.
"Clinton" is designed to infect programs, but it eradicates itself when it cannot decide which program to infect.
"SPA" examines programs on the hard disk to determine whether they are properly licensed. If the virus detects illegally copied software, it seizes the computer's modem, automatically dials 911, and asks for help.
For those malcontent computer users who seek ready-made vi- ruses, a bulletin board service in France, accessible via the Internet, has a large collection of diverse viruses that can be downloaded and then introduced into a targeted computer. Certainly, the capacity to infect a computer is available, and infections are occurring on an increasing, although not epidemic, basis.