Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!lll-winken!iggy.GW.Vitalink.COM!widener!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: GLWARNER@SAMFORD.BITNET (THE GAR) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: Re: Can such a virus be written .... (PC) Message-ID: <0009.9106281824.AA04058@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 27 Jun 91 21:17:25 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 37 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu >From: Doug Krause >> >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 ? > >Doesn't STONED act that way? > >Douglas Krause One yuppie can ruin your whole day. NO! Stoned does NOT act that way. At least if I am understanding the question properly. If I am, then the virus is impossible. Let me make sure I understand. We have booted from some drive, C, and are now, after the COMMAND.COM from C has been loaded, doing a DIR on some infected disk, A. The question is, can the infected disk A, infect C. NO. The code that is being executed is in RAM, not on drive A. Without executing any code from A, we cannot invoke a virus. STONED works by executing the boot sector on the infected drive A, but this can only happen at boot time, not by executing a DIR command. Macintosh's CAN infect C from A in the above case, because inserting a disk executes the DESKTOP program on that disk. If the DESKTOP on A is infected, getting a listing will give you the virus (WDEF usually!) /++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++\ ! Later + Systems Programmer ! ! Gary Warner + Samford University Computer Services ! ! + II TIMOTHY 2:15 ! \+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++/