Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle
From: Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Right of reply, virus- public, private- a thin line
Message-ID: <15225@cup.portal.com>
Date: 1 Mar 89 06:04:02 GMT
References: <699@orbit.UUCP> <15139@cup.portal.com> <1200@hudson.acc.virginia.edu>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 23

Greg Lindahl writes that he was able to write a virus detecting ACCessory
from a description of a virus...
 
That's great, and Greg's ACCessory may be able to help a lot of others to
check out their disks...  but...   Greg and others here are in the minority
when considered against the larger body of ST  *users*  to whom a description
of a virus would be largely "Greek".  To them, the information would be
practically worthless, other than to alert them that such things are
possible..
 
My concern remains that there are VERY few people who could use this kind
of information constructively... and all too many ( >0 is too many) people
who could infer how to create or mutate a virus from it.
 
Here's another question...  how are we going to protect all the thousands of
ST users who don't have access to modems, and who can't obtain a virus "killer
of any kind..?
 
Is disseminating virus information going to help them..?
 
BobR
 
(I hope everyone realizes that I'm playing devil's advocate here... a LITTLE)