Xref: utzoo comp.sys.atari.st:14250 comp.sys.apple:10264 comp.sys.mac:27261 comp.sys.ibm.pc:25204 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!oliveb!pyramid!prls!philabs!ttidca!hollombe From: hollombe@ttidca.TTI.COM (The Polymath) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.apple,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Right of reply, virus- public, private- a thin line Message-ID: <3936@ttidca.TTI.COM> Date: 23 Feb 89 19:31:09 GMT References: <415@odin.cs.hw.ac.uk> <14940@cup.portal.com> Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcb.tti.com (The Polymath) Organization: The Cat Factory Lines: 32 In article <14940@cup.portal.com> Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com writes: }I agree that this is a sensitive matter... the *ONLY* time I ever tried }to surpress any Topic of discussion on GEnie was when the discussion of }"Trojan Horses" got too close to discussing ACTUAL methods of destructive }programming.. (the term "virus" hadn't yet entered into things..) }Where do you draw the line...? Are we better prepared if we see what most }destructive programs look like..? Or... can we possibly avoid future }problems by surpressing this information now..? } }I'd like to see the source code for these "viruses", but who's to believe }that *I* won't use them destructively...? A point I haven't seen mentioned in any of these discussions: All of the necessary information for constructing a virus can be found in any advanced text on MS-DOS features and programming. Of course, it isn't all conveniently gathered in a chapter titled "Virus Construction", but the data is there for anyone sufficiently knowledgeable and interested in finding and using it. In light of the above, the idea that you can prevent the spread of viri by not discussing them in public is ludicrous. You can't keep the information out of the hands of the bad guys. The best you can do is inform the good guys and help them devise methods to protect themselves. To develop such methods, you have to know what you're up against. -- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe, hollombe@ttidca.tti.com) Illegitimati Nil Citicorp(+)TTI Carborundum 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. (213) 452-9191, x2483 Santa Monica, CA 90405 {csun|philabs|psivax}!ttidca!hollombe