Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!bionet!apple!dlyons
From: dlyons@Apple.COM (David Lyons)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Resource Forks?
Keywords: Resource Forks, Viruses, IIGS
Message-ID: <33316@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 20 Jul 89 11:00:24 GMT
References: <6851@sdcsvax.UCSD.Edu>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 25

In article <6851@sdcsvax.UCSD.Edu> jonah@amos.ling.ucsd.edu (Jonah Stich) writes:
>I wasalking to a friend, (a Mac owner) and the topic of resource forks came up.
>According to him, it is possible to put a virus into a resource fork, which can
>then aid it in spreading to other programs (I wasn't sure wether I bought that
>last bit). Anyways, is this a problem that us humble IIGS users may soon 
>encounter? I hope not....

Easy question.  No--on the GS, I don't see how having resource forks makes
life any easier for viruses.  Why?  Because the trick to spreading a virus
is putting code someplace where it will be executed.  The system already
loads and gives control to Init files in the System.Setup directory and
desk accessories in the Desk.Accs directory.  It does this with the regular
data fork; no change with resource forks.

So far it seems that GS users have better things to do than write viruses;
the only ones I've seen affect ProDOS 8 applications only.

 --Dave Lyons, Apple Computer, Inc.          |   DAL Systems
   AppleLink--Apple Edition: DAVE.LYONS      |   P.O. Box 875
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   My opinions are my own, not Apple's.