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From: time@ice.com (Tim Endres)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: A new virus that physically damages your hard disk?
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 91 11:06:27 EST
Organization: ICE Engineering, Inc.
Message-ID: <1CE00001.cjpdlcx@tbomb.ice.com>
Reply-To: time@ice.com
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In article <1573@babcock.cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu>, vrm@blackwater.cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu (Vasile R. Montan) writes:
> I heard a disturbing rumor today: someone told me that there is
> a new Mac virus that somehow physically damages the hard drive,
> requiring that it be sent back to the manufacturer for a costly
> repair.
> 
> Is this true?  If so, how does the virus work, and how can I
> protect myself from it?  Will Disinfect catch it?

People who start these rumors are as bad as the people who write viruses!

I know of no way for a piece of software to *physically* damage a
generic drive. There may be some unfortunate drive someplace that
can be physically damaged by some sequence of requests, but I seriously
doubt it!!! It may be possible to do a low level format of the medium
making it unusable, BUT this would vary from drive to drive and not
work on many of them, so the probability of this is about zero.

I would recommend a trip to 714 and a warm calming bath.

tim.

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