Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!uflorida!gatech!emory!phssra
From: phssra@emory.uucp (Scott R. Anderson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: UPTIME VIRUS
Keywords: MacWorld/Virus/Uptime
Message-ID: <3185@emory.uucp>
Date: 11 Sep 88 22:11:35 GMT
References: <767@hub.ucsb.edu>
Reply-To: phssra@emory.UUCP (Scott Robert Anderson)
Organization: Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta
Lines: 44

In article <767@hub.ucsb.edu> angst%csilvax@hub.ucsb.edu (vaguely human) writes:
>A friend of mine received a disk in the mail from a company called "UPTIME."
>It was billed as "public domain" software which was being given out for free,
>
>Apparently, there's... some sort of
>"money" program as he calls it (in addition to others).  He ran the "money"
>program and it said something like "rearranging system folder; this may
>take a while."  Sensing destruction, my friend tried to restart his Mac II,
>but the disk would not come out....
>
>He booted from a System floppy, and then reinstalled his system folder, 
>thinking all was well.  Well, a short time later, his Mac just turned off
>while he was typing, just as if he had selected "Shut down".

Interesting that you should mention this.  I borrowed the very same disk from
someone here who also received it in the mail, and I also had some problem with
the Money Matters program.  It started up OK, and was basically for calculating
loan payments, etc. based on input data.  Not being interested, I then
attempted to throw it away, but every time I selected it, my Mac II would
freeze up.  I finally removed everything else from the folder and threw the
folder away.  Weird!  I haven't had any subsequent problems, however.

>He looked in his system folder, and, surprise,
>all of the icons had an "A" written across them.

I don't have any "A"'s written across my system files, but the Uptime disk does
come with a different system file icon (the upper part of the Mac has a double
outline around it), and I found that that one had replaced the original system
file icon.  I have seen this sort of icon-swapping happen before (although I am
ignorant of how it works), so I don't think it is anything to worry about.

>Has anyone else seen this virus?  Has anyone found a cure?

There is no evidence that it's a virus, and I doubt that it's even a trojan
horse; it's probably just a program that doesn't work very well with the Mac II
and/or System 5, like so many others.  Needless to say, it doesn't leave a very
good impression about Uptime, which is actually trying to sell these programs
on a subscription basis (this disk was the "Best of Uptime" :-).

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  *      **                  Scott Robert Anderson      gatech!emoryu1!phssra
   *   *    *    **          phssra@unix.cc.emory.edu   phssra@emoryu1.bitnet
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