Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!noao!stsci!itkin
From: itkin@stsci.EDU (Elliot Itkin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Viruses are here to stay (long)
Message-ID: <176@obi-wan>
Date: 5 Jan 88 20:48:10 GMT
References: <5996@oberon.USC.EDU> <630@mcdsun.UUCP> <3082@cbmvax.UUCP>
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218
Lines: 27
Summary: Just what we need!

In article <3082@cbmvax.UUCP>, bill@cbmvax.UUCP (Bill Koester CATS) writes:
> In article <630@mcdsun.UUCP> fnf@mcdsun.UUCP (Fred Fish) writes:
> >I'd like to see a version of vcheck that runs in the background, wakes up
> >periodically to test memory and all accessible disks, and puts up an
> >alert of some type the first time it finds anything suspicious about a
> >particular disk.  It would be nice if it could somehow be triggered to
> >test disks automatically at any diskchange signal.
> >
> It's in the works!
> Bill Koester (CATS)          >>Commodore Amiga Technical Support<<
> Commodore International Ltd. UUCP ..{allegra|burdvax|rutgers|ihnp4}!cbmvax!bill 

AH HA!  A virus that checks for viruses!  

By the way, people have said that you can only get a virus from BOOTING an
infected disk.  It as been mentioned (and continues to be mentioned) that 
the instigator could be a program that (among other things) implants the 
virus.  This means that you could get a virus from just executing a PD 
program (even one from Fred Fish).  This means that you are *NOT* safe just 
because you don't boot.  I have been told that there is a nifty PD demo 
(some graphic animation thing with a MAX Headroom type character) that does 
this.  Anyone else heard of it?
-- 
Elliot S. Itkin       Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218
                      UUCP:   {arizona,decvax,hao,ihnp4}!noao!stsci!itkin
                      ARPA:   itkin@stsci.edu
                      SPAN:   {SCIVAX,KEPLER}::ITKIN