Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: kelly@uts.amdahl.com (Kelly Goen) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: Re: Death of a Virus Message-ID: <0009.9004091138.AA06134@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 7 Apr 90 01:21:30 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 24 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu CHESS@YKTVMV.BITNET (David.M.Chess) writes: >Dave Ihnat writes: > >> elimination of the conditions that lead to viruses basically means >> redesigning the computers that are attacked to eliminate the >> simplistic hardware model that allows full access to the single user. > >Unfortunately, viruses do not depend on this hardware model; viruses >can spread in any system that allows both programming and information >sharing, regardless of whether or not programs have direct access to >the hardware, whether or not the system is assumed to be single-user, >and so on. See various papers by Fred Cohen on the subject. As long >as (roughly) some programs sometimes have write-access to some other >programs, viruses can spread. > >Dave Chess >IBM T. J. Watson Research Center Yes dave but under environments which use say the VM8086 model on the 386 (such as VPIX) file writability and/or hardware acces is TOTALLY under the control of unix... weak unix security weak dos security good unix security = good dos security in this case.... cheers kelly