Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!nbires!ncar!husc6!think!whitney
From: whitney@think.COM (David Whitney)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Z-Link and virus checking
Message-ID: <24705@think.UUCP>
Date: 1 Aug 88 04:30:07 GMT
Sender: usenet@think.UUCP
Reply-To: whitney@think.UUCP (David Whitney)
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 38


OK, for starters, I'm pretty upset by this whole virus deal, and I'm
in the process of doing something about it. The guy who wrote CyberAIDS
is going to get caught and prosecuted. I won't stop until I'm satisfied.

Now, onto the matter at hand. I've been twiddling Z-Link, and I fixed a couple
things. I also just added some simple presence-of-virus code. This code will
detect if Z-Link has been infected by the execution of another virus. It is
highly unlikely that somebody with malicious intent would be unable to get
around this protection and install a virus into Z-Link. I therefore present
this warning: DO NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING WITH THE NAME Z-LINK OR ANY VARIATION OF
THE NAME Z-LINK UNLESS YOU CAN BE CERTAIN OF TRACING THE SOURCE OF THE FILE
BACK TO ME. 

That means anyone who grabs it off this distribution (comp.binaries.apple2
or Apple2-L) is safe. Anyone who grabs it off of GEnie should take note that
it was put there either by Rich Jordan or Dave Lyons.  Nobody else has been
authorized by me to put it there. If you don't see a sharware notice, or the
mail address is NOT

	David Whitney
	450 Memorial Drive
	Cambridge MA 02139

then it is a false copy. Delete the file and check your disks to be sure
everything is ok. I'll be adding something much more sophisticated at a later
date. If the mail address is not as above, and you possibly sent money,
then you've been suckered. Sorry. If this is the case, by all means get that
address to me and I'll do something.

I won't be posting tonight, as I have to update the doc file to reflect the
minor changes I've made. Expect it before mid-week.


David Whitney, MIT '90                   DISCLAIMER: Nobody knows what I'm up
{out there}!harvard!think!whitney         to. Don't blame them for my actions
whitney@think.com                         nor me for theirs.
^^^^^ will be changing before 1989 is here. Don't depend on it after 1/1/89.