Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!nuchat!sugar!peter
From: peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Virus spread due to piracy?  Huh?
Message-ID: <1367@sugar.UUCP>
Date: 6 Jan 88 12:06:52 GMT
References: <2264@crash.cts.com>
Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX
Lines: 26
Summary: Innocents boot disks too.

I'm sick of this "only pirates boot disks" attitude towards these particular
viruses.

(1) There are quite a few PD programs out there distributed on bootable disks,
either because the software requires certain files (mainly font files) to be
there, or because it's the only way to guarantee there's enough RAM to run the
program in a 512K Amiga 1000. Most of these are demo programs, which get quite
wide circulation. Most stores I know will let you copy a few demos when you
get your machine. It's good for business ("hey, Andy, come over and see what my
new computer can do"... "Neat, where can I get one of those").

	Joel Hagen's "Probe Sequence" disk has been passed around this way.
	I've seen dealers handing out BADGE killer demo disks with the
		workbench already installed.
	The NewTek demo disks are usually run by booting, because they're
		just SO big.

This is technically piracy (of the workbench software), but I don't think
anyone will argue that it hurts Commodore's sales of the Amiga Enhancer.

(2) THe boot block is NOT the only place you can hide a virus. It's just the
place these particular nasties decided to put it. If I was going to do a virus
I can think of some much more interesting places to put it.
-- 
-- Peter da Silva  `-_-'  ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter
-- Disclaimer: These U aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.