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From: isle@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU (Ken Hancock)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: StuffIt a Virus ?
Message-ID: <8771@eleazar.Dartmouth.EDU>
Date: 27 Apr 88 18:52:34 GMT
References: <350@matr-a.UUCP>
Reply-To: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu.Dartmouth.EDU (Ken Hancock)
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Lines: 45
Keywords: Trojan Horse Stuff It

In article <350@matr-a.UUCP> ken@matr-a.UUCP (Ken Farnen) writes:
>I have just read a short piece in a UK computer paper about viruses in general.
>
>There was what ammounted to a 'throwaway' comment that the Mac community was
>heavily infected by the 'Stuff It' virus.
>
>This is a trifle worrying!  We quite like StuffIt, and since the net is in
>the process of standardising on it, we can't get away from it.  I was also
>about ready to authorise it to be included in the shareware archives we keep.
>
>OK, I know that the free rags are not the most accurate of sources, but I
>feel I must ask:
>
>IS STUFFIT A TROJAN HORSE ?????????
>
>If not, does anyone know how such a misunderstanding could arise ?

1. StuffIt is NOT a trojan horse.

2. Misunderstandings arrise because people pass on incomplete information
   and other people spread it.

3. People are getting a trifle paranoid about viruses in general.  Every time
   someone gets a bomb nowadays, their first reaction is "Oh my!  I must have
   a virus!"

As for the virus in StuffIt comment, there was a copy of StuffIt found in
Texas with a virus attached to it.  How did it get there?  Probably someone
downloaded StuffIt from somewhere, ran it on their hard disk which was
infected by some virus, and then uploaded it to another bulletin board
in the area.  Then others downloaded it, etc. etc.  You get the idea.

Raymond Lau has written a wonderful program and I hate to see it get
cut appart by all this paranoia over viruses.  True enough, viruses exist,
but let's put it in perspective -- it's easier to catch a little cold
then to come across a computer virus.  So, for the moment, take a couple
aspirins and call me in the morning...


Ken

-- 
Ken Hancock                        |    UUCP: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu
Personal Computing Ctr. Consultant |  BITNET: isle@eleazar.dartmouth.edu
__________________________________/ \____________________________________
DISCLAIMER: If people weren't so sue-happy, I wouldn't need one!