Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: David.M..Chess.CHESS@YKTVMV.BITNET Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: DataCrime Virus Worries (PC) Message-ID: <0006.8909141422.AA20953@ge.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 13 Sep 89 00:00:00 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 11 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu I think the reason that people are writing/talking so much about the DataCrime viruses, despite the fact that they seem to be much rarer than say the Jerusalem, is simply that they're so much more *destructive*. If we're just counting infections, one JV infection equals one DataCrime infection. But if we're counting the actual destruction wreaked, a Jerusalem infection is comparatively mild (some EXE and COM files to be restored/recovered), compared to a worst-case DataCrime activation (large numbers of hard disks with cylinder 0 gone, and all the data unreachable). I suspect that's the basis for the apparently disproportionate worry; I'm not saying it's necessarily - -warranted-, just suggesting an explanation... DC