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From: davidsen@crdos1.crd.ge.com (Wm E Davidsen Jr)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Protection in Operating Systems
Message-ID: <0002.8910301224.AA05511@ge.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 26 Oct 89 16:03:14 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List <VIRUS-L@IBM1.CC.Lehigh.EDU>
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In article <0001.8910231129.AA06880@ge.sei.cmu.edu>, WHMurray@DOCKMASTER.ARPA w
rites:

|  However, as it relates to viruses, the big difference between them
|  today is the number and nature of uses and users.  If UNIX were being
|  used for the same things and by the same number of users as DOS, it
|  would be just as vulnerable.

  I don't see how that relates to the technical issues. DOS allows any
program to write anywhere in memory, including over the o/s. UNIX does
not. DOS allows any program to write directly on the hard disk. UNIX
does not. DOS allows any program to write to a floppy disk. UNIX may
or may not, but in general UNIX seldom uses floppies at all, and when
it does the formats are usually not susceptable to changing one file
without changing others (ie. tar, cpio). DOS allows any program to
modify any file on any disk. UNIX does not.

  This is not a case of one being "better" than another, just a case of
inherent characteristics of the systems. Yes, if someone is running UNIX
on an 8088 machine many of the protections are bypassed.
- --
bill davidsen	(davidsen@crdos1.crd.GE.COM -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)
"The world is filled with fools. They blindly follow their so-called
'reason' in the face of the church and common sense. Any fool can see
that the world is flat!" - anon