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From: frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Viruses and Database Systems
Message-ID: <0004.9105061316.AA01852@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 2 May 91 22:10:27 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List <VIRUS-L@LEHIIBM1>
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Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu

Ramzi A. Haraty writes:
>Greetings,
>	Does anybody know how to handle viruses in a database system?

Well, for now you can just ignore them - they don't exist.  :-)

Seriously though - a virus can only INFECT executable code, not data
items in a database.  The data items can be CORRUPTED by a virus, but
not in a way that will spread the infection.

For example, there exist two viruses targeted against dBASE, known as
'dBASE-virus' and 'DBF-blank virus'.  Both are extremely rare, and it
is doubtful if they exist "in the wild".  They both corrupt database
information, but they do not infect the database itself.

- -frisk