Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!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: dhesi%cirrusl@oliveb.ATC.olivetti.com (Rahul Dhesi) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: Re: *NIX virus... necessary knowledge. (UNIX) Message-ID: <0005.9012181426.AA01528@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 15 Dec 90 03:27:33 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 17 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu David.M.Chess writes that a UNIX virus simply has to find executable files to write to and infect them, and does not need any special privileges. Even if there were a substantial number of such executable files, there is another consideration: There are many different types of machines running different types of UNIX. For this reason it is very unlikely that a UNIX virus could ever become as widespread as an IBM/MS-DOS virus, for example. As soon as it arrived at a machine with a different CPU (or even the same CPU with a different executable file format) its propagation at that point would be blocked. - -- Rahul Dhesi UUCP: oliveb!cirrusl!dhesi