Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!sei.cmu.edu!krvw
From: hf07+@andrew.cmu.edu (Howard Haruo Fukuda)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Scanning MAC diskettes on a PC
Message-ID: <0003.9003062138.AA00310@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 6 Mar 90 06:12:47 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List <VIRUS-L@IBM1.CC.Lehigh.EDU>
Lines: 30
Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu

MAINT@UQAM.BITNET (Peter Jones) writes:
>After reading how the WDEF virus on the MAC propagates when an
>infected disk is inserted in the MAC, I would like to suggest the
>approach of using a PC with a 3 1/2 drive to scan the MAC diskettes
>and check for viruses. Assuming the PC hardware can read everything
>the MAC can, this would be safer, IMHO, than using a MAC for this
>task, for the chance of a virus being able to infect both a MAC and a
>PC seem remote.

I don't think a PC equiped with a 3.5" drive can read a Mac formatted
disk.  A Mac formats the disk to 800K by using a variable speed
controller which puts more data on the outer rings of the disk than on
the inner ones.  I'm not sure if it's possible to override the ROM on a
PC, but this would be pretty extreme measures.  IMHO it's not really
neccessary to do this.

Again:
>After reading how the WDEF virus on the MAC propagates when an
>infected disk is inserted in the MAC,[...]

This is a misleading simplification.  WDEF spreads when a disk is
inserted if the Finder or MultiFinder is running (and when the disk is
opened).  If an application is running and not with MultiFinder, WDEF
doesn't spread it's infection.  So a Mac running Disinfectant (or a
commercial equivalent) w/o MultiFinder is quite capable of stopping
infections.

- -Howard

Internet: hf07+@andrew.cmu.edu