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From: kenm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (...Jose)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Can such a virus be written .... (PC)
Message-ID: <0011.9106261903.AA01188@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 25 Jun 91 17:17:19 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List <VIRUS-L@LEHIIBM1>
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Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu

frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason) writes:
>>vanaards@project4.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk (Steven van Aardt) writes
:
>>  Is it possible to write a PC virus which installs itself whenever
>>you place an infected disk in the drive and do a DIR command ?
>
>Not only possible - many such viruses already exist.  They are either boot
>sector infectors which intercept INT13 and infect a disk whenever it is read
>from, or file infectors which intercept the FindFirst/FindNext functions -
>the DIR and DIR-2 viruses are a prime example.

	I'm not sure that this (very correct) answer actually responds
to the question.  If I'm not mistaken, the question is whether a virus on
a diskette can infect the system/hard drive simply by doing a DIR of the
infected diskette; ie. can simply reading the infected disk cause the virus
to be loaded into memory.  I can't see how.

	Mr. Skulason, I think, is referring to a virus already in memory
subverting the DIR command to place itself on a clean diskette.

	Have I interpretted everyone's statements correctly?

			....Jose

- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
".sig quotes are dippy"|Kenneth C. Moyle          kenm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca
 - Kenneth C. Moyle    |Department of Biochemistry     MOYLEK@MCMASTER.BITNET
                       |McMaster University       ...!uunet!mnetor!maccs!kenm