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From: nortond@well.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: A Lethal Command
Message-ID: <3163@well.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 28-May-87 06:16:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: well.3163
Posted: Thu May 28 06:16:07 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 30-May-87 00:55:46 EDT
Organization: Home
Lines: 24


     As a systems programmer, I have discovered a variety of complex
ways to bring computers to their knees, but usually it requires at least
1,000 lines of perfectly good code with one line missing.

     I have recently discovered, however, that all of my previous work
was entirely unnecessary.  An MS-DOS system can be brought to a grinding
halt with a single command:

		echo >"="

Yes, that's all that it takes.  The system barely has time to echo back
the new line sequence before everything is frozen.  One time, the system
did manage to display "File creation error", but that was it.  This
method is so effective that even CTRL-ALT-DEL is ignored.

    I consider this method superior to writing a program which 1) wipes out
program memory 2) wipes out the interrupt vectors or 3) pushes the stack
without popping it.  I have had years of experience with all of these
methods and have decided that the "echo" method of crashing the system
is best, especially since it can be executed from a batch file (most
notably AUTOEXEC.BAT).
-- 
Daniel A. Norton			...{lll-lcc,ptsfa,hplabs}!well!nortond