Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: plains!umn-cs!LOCAL!aslakson@uunet.UU.NET (Brian Aslakson) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: Re: Trojan Warning: SCANV70 (PC) Message-ID: <0010.9011271730.AA07735@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 25 Nov 90 20:57:20 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 30 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu keithm@ashtate.A-T.COM (Keith Mund) writes: >Speaking personally as a software author, buy software from the >manufacturer or a legitimate dealer. The same fears you have are felt >by them manyfold, and great care is taken to insure safe software. >Although you threw out names of companies freely, none of them has >distributed software with any problems. Why fear a problem that does >not exist. Viruses are spread by individuals copying software, not by >legitamate manufacturers. Sorry! I've heard many horror stories, some in this group, about viruses in shrink-wrapped software. I've downloaded from dial-in bbs's and done anonymous ftp, and yes, copied software from friends. I've never been infected. The only place where I've seen infections are in multiple use environments like computer labs at Universities. Although I haven't seen infections from any other sources, they do exist, and I check everything just in case. Viruses are spread in many ways. If you are referring to Anti-viral programs, I'm sure that they are the most virus free programs you can find, other than something you write yourself! (My experience is mostly with Disinfectant, Gatekeeper, SCAN, and F-PROT). - -- Brian Aslakson aslakson@cs.umn.edu mac-admin@cs.umn.edu <-= Macintosh related