Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!pyr!ccasttd
From: ccasttd@pyr.gatech.EDU (Thomas M. Dixon Jr.)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Viruses are here to stay (long)
Message-ID: <4730@pyr.gatech.EDU>
Date: 7 Jan 88 20:03:46 GMT
References: <5996@oberon> <7976@g>
Reply-To: ccasttd@pyr.UUCP (Thomas M. Dixon Jr.)
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
Lines: 26

In article <7976@g> sean@g writes:
>In article <5998@oberon.USC.EDU> papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa) writes:
>>...massive network shutdown -- Ross Patterson, Rutgers University
>>... virtually paralized IBMs internal network --
[ lots 'o stuff edited out. ]
>
>This is an example of a "harmless" virus.  Like the Switzerland virus,
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ kind of a contradiction in terms.

>it's sole purpose was to propagate as widely as possible.
>Unfortunately, it ate a lot of network bandwidth, and both system and
>user disk space.  It also annoyed a lot of people.
>
>--  Sean Casey               sean@ms.uky.edu,  sean@UKMA.BITNET


While this virus was a problem due to the network overload it caused, It's
harmless nature is demonstrated by one fact:
     It dies on Feb 1, 88 and will no longer propagate itself after that 
	date.

If the SCA virus was indeed so harmless, Why wasn't it designed to kill itself
(of be easily killed) after it made its point the way xmas exec was.

Thomas M. Dixon Jr
ccasttd @ pyr.gatech.edu