Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!evax!utacfd!letni!texsun!digi.lonestar.org!rgoseweh From: rgoseweh@digi.lonestar.org (Roy Gosewehr) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: TOS 2.0 Summary: Avoiding Boot Viruses Keywords: TOS NEODESK DCDESKTOP ROMS Message-ID: <1271@digi.lonestar.org> Date: 15 Nov 90 20:39:20 GMT References: <35495@cup.portal.com> <1238@digi.lonestar.org> <1990Nov06.213749.13906@ecst.csuchico.edu> Organization: DSC Communications, Plano Tx. Lines: 32 In article mboen@nixdorf.de (Martin Boening) writes: > >Well, you'd better NEVER power up with any disk in drive A. If the boot >sector is executable, it'll be executed. And that's with a ROM OS! >If the boot sector is a virus, you'll get hit by a virus. That's all there >is to a boot sector virus. It's true though, that there probably won't be >many link viruses infesting command.com, cause there's no command.com. Yes, I ALWAYS power up with a disk in Drive A. It is my own "standard drive holder disk" :-) which is guaranteed to not have a virus on it. And with a disk in A, I boot from the hard disk MUCH MUCH faster! Try it - you will like it! >Up to now, I haven't been hit by viruses (viri ? Argh, not again. :-) >even though I use PCs with disk based OSes and STs with ROM based OSes, >so in my opinion the danger is exaggerated. I have been hit by a virus on a COMMERCIALLY PURCHASED UPGRADE DISK from the ORIGINAL MANUFACTURER. The danger is NOT exaggerated and I don't EVER boot with anything other than my own "clean" disk in the floppy drive. >So much for safety arguments. You may not care about your programs/data, but I do and my operational methods increase the probability that I will not get "hit" again. You know what the FRAM Oil Man says !!!!! :-) >Bye bye data, Hellloooo safety, Roy C. Gosewehr