home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
- Path: sparky!uunet!spool.mu.edu!agate!rsoft!mindlink!a3916
- From: Clayten_Hamacher@mindlink.bc.ca (Clayten Hamacher)
- Subject: Re: Beneficial Virus?
- Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
- Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 00:03:20 GMT
- Message-ID: <19310@mindlink.bc.ca>
- Sender: news@deep.rsoft.bc.ca (Usenet)
- Lines: 46
-
- >You are missing a basic point. For a virus to "check for the presence
- >of a marker file" that virus has to be executing on my system, whether
- >or not I have authorized it to.
-
- So? I fail to see the problem with this. Many programs you might download
- install bits of themselves into memory without your specific permission.
-
- Besides, The only thing the virus could do would be unpack the file.. All of
- the infection code would be in the marker (and you'd have to install that)
-
-
- > Besides, how does the virus *get* to my system? Either it cracked my
- >security, again without my permission, or it was hidden on a file
- >imported onto my system, without my knowledge (if I *know* about it,
- >and import it deliberately, then packaging it as a virus was not
- >necessary.)
-
- The 'virus' would get on your system the same way the file you downloaded
- did. Besides, it can't really be called a virus unless you install the marker
- because all the compression, replication routines would be in there. All
- you'd have on your system would be a self extracting archive.
-
-
- >As another poster said, I don't see that there's anything you can do
- >with a virus that doesn't have a non-viral alternative that is safer
- >for the rest of the world.
-
- That was me... Come to think of it though, it would be very usefull to have
- this all self-contained. If a driver is made for a specific O/S it would have
- to be installed (either by you or the program, and THAT would be something to
- bitch about) and could either not work or crash, possibly taking the entire
- system with it. If the 'virus' was written without any system or O/S specific
- calls it would work on all systems without any chance of error.
-
-
- Why don't you people understand, the virus would be PERFECTLY SAFE! All it
- would be is a SEA unless you installed the marker. It wouldn't go copying
- itself over networks or breaking into machines.
-
- P.S. If you're worried about it being modified to not need a marker (or to
- supply the file on it's own), ask yourself why. If someone was out to get you
- they'd just make a program to format your HD, not compress your files!
-
- --
-
- Clayten_Hamacher@Mindlink.bc.ca Land of the rising snow.
-