Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!think!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!att!alberta!ubc-cs!van-bc!root
From: lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Can writing on a disk be prevented completed?
Message-ID: <2244@van-bc.UUCP>
Date: 19 Feb 89 18:10:18 GMT
Sender: root@van-bc.UUCP
Lines: 33

In <1986@daimi.dk>, hrc@himalia.dk (Henrik Raeder Clausen) writes:
 >Our public libraries in Denmark are about to buy complete Fish disk
 >libraries for public lending, but they are quite worried about possible
 >sabotage in the form of viruses, Greetings and the like on their disks.
 >Is there anyting better to do than to glue the write protection block into
 >permanent read-only position? This is too easy to circumvent - just use a
 >creditcard.
 >   Any help would be greatly appreciated - the concept of PD disks in the
 >public libraries is just too good to waste!

I would suggest that the only safe way would be to either:

1. Diskcopy the original onto each loaner as it is returned, or

2. Use a compare program (will need to be written) that will do a complete
   compare of the entire original with the entire loaner when it is returned.

All other schemes are doomed to failure, and if it becomes known that either of
the above methods are in operation, there will undoubtedly be attempts at
sabotaging those as well.

Such is the nature of the pea-brains who write viruses.

-larry

--
Frisbeetarianism: The belief that when you die, your soul goes up on
                  the roof and gets stuck.
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|   //   Larry Phillips                                                |
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|        COMPUSERVE: 76703,4322                                        |
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