Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!crdgw1!uunet!visix!news
From: kent@visix.com (Ken Turner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: A new virus that physically damages your hard disk?
Message-ID: <1991Apr12.153022.15898@visix.com>
Date: 12 Apr 91 15:30:22 GMT
References: <1CE00001.cjpdlcx@tbomb.ice.com>
Sender: news@visix.com
Reply-To: kent@visix.com (Ken Turner)
Organization: Visix Software Inc., Reston, Virginia
Lines: 32

In article <1CE00001.cjpdlcx@tbomb.ice.com>, time@ice.com (Tim Endres) writes:
> 
> 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.
> > [...worrying deleted]
>
> 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.
> 

It is possible that someone, with enough SCSI knowledge, could screw up
any hard drive enough (though not physically damaged) to be complete
useless and unfixable for the average user.  However, it's more likely
that your hard drive will become completely useless and unfixable all on
its own! :~)  People who make regular back-ups sleep better at night.



Ken Turner
Visix Software Inc.