Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pacbell!att!ihlpb!nevin1 From: nevin1@ihlpb.ATT.COM (Liber) Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d Subject: Re: Are these binaries "safe"? Summary: Please, DON'T SEND VIRUSES around *AT ALL*!! Message-ID: <8475@ihlpb.ATT.COM> Date: 5 Aug 88 15:54:24 GMT References: <4774@csli.STANFORD.EDU> <30587@clyde.ATT.COM> Reply-To: nevin1@ihlpb.UUCP (55528-Liber,N.J.) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois Lines: 58 In article <30587@clyde.ATT.COM> feg@clyde.ATT.COM (Forrest Gehrke) writes: >I think this "virus" scare is the greatest scam since the little >man who spun gold clothes for the emperor, which everybody "saw" >and admired. In other words, you don't think that viruses are possible, or, even if they are possible, they don't exist. >The only people who are hyping this nonsense are those who purvey >"vaccines", and "hypochondriacs" who continue the nonsense. Some of the other people who are, as you say, 'hyping this nonsense', are people who have lost many weeks of valuable work to, as you say, 'the emperor's gold clothes'. Still others noticed that COMMAND.COM had changed size or timestamp and thought this was a bit unusual; I guess you would call this unfounded paranoia. >If anyone has an honest-to-God example of a one of these viruses >please, PLEASE email it to me. PLEASE DON'T!! >I'd love to dissect it to see how >these marvelous things they are supposed to effect are programmed. You either a) Really don't believe that a virus can exist. If this is true, then you don't have a high enough level of expertise with computers to be fooling around with a virus. If you had a higher level of expertise, you would realize that viruses are not only possible but they are (unfortunately) almost trivial to write. or b) Are trying to trick the net into sending you a virus. In which case under no circumstances should you be allowed to study a virus. If you really don't believe that viruses are possible, read Ken Thompson's 1983(?) Turing Award Lecture in the CACM entitled "Reflections on Trusting Trust". Although the article does not directly talk about viruses, it is easy to see that it is very closely related. If you believe that they are possible but don't exist, get the volume 6 archives of comp.risks; there are numerous articles about viruses discovered in late 1987/early 1988. AND PLEASE, DON'T SEND VIRUSES AROUND IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM! -- _ __ NEVIN J. LIBER ..!att!ihlpb!nevin1 (312) 979-???? ' ) ) I got a new job, account, 1 out of 2 paychecks, but no / / _ , __o ____ office or *phone*; more details as they are avaiable. / (_