Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: RADAI@HUJIVMS.BITNET (Y. Radai) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: Disk Manager (PC) Message-ID: <0004.9008101840.AA07688@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 9 Aug 90 12:01:00 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 26 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu Michael Greve wrote that his machines have become infected with the 4096 even though the hard disks are protected with Disk Manager. Several people reacted by saying that Disk Manager is disk partition- ing software, not anti-viral software. Well, I don't think Michael is that far off. True, Disk Manager is disk partitioning software. But it includes an option to make a par- tition READ-ONLY. In principle, this should prevent infection of any file on such a partition. Of course, since this is only software pro- tection, it can probably be circumvented. But I think that it should be effective against all current file viruses, including the 4096. So if this option has actually been used on one of the partitions, files *on that partition* should be protected against the 4096. Note that I said that it should be effective against *file* viruses. I don't recall if it's possible, under Disk Manager, to arrange for the boot sector to be in the read-only partition. If it is, then this should also work against ordinary boot-sector viruses. However, it won't work against partition-record viruses, like the Stoned (= Mari- juana) and EDV. Y. Radai Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Israel RADAI@HUJIVMS.BITNET (Note new address)