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- Path: sparky!uunet!cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!uwvax!gorgon!fullfeed!ruth!rat
- From: rat@ruth.UUCP (David Douthitt)
- Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
- Subject: Re: Beneficial Virus?
- Message-ID: <ym03wB3w165w@ruth.UUCP>
- Date: 9 Jan 93 02:48:09 GMT
- References: <1993Jan6.152243.22472@nastar.uucp>
- Organization: Network XXIII - +1 608 222 9253
- Lines: 43
-
- phardie@nastar.uucp (Pete Hardie) writes:
-
- | Consider a multi-user system where another user installed the virus, and I
- | want to transfer a file to my home system, and need to transfer the marker
- | file, but I do not know which file it is.
-
- A. If a USER on a multi-user system is able to install the virus, then you've
- got REAL problems, I say.... unless the virus is written with that in
- mind - and only attaches itself to the user's file.
-
- B. You wont need to transfer the marker file - the file will auto-uncompress
- with or without the marker. The marker only prevents the spreading
- of the auto-uncompress code.
-
- C. You don't NEED to know what file it is - just reinstall the virus
- software at home. Of course, with the sensitivity of such a product,
- I would expect the file to be named in the manual somewhere.
-
- | Sure, no more files are infected once
- | I delete the marker file (assuming I know which file it is), ....
-
- Again, you don't NEED to know what file it is - if you want to remove it,
- run the provided (one would expect!) Beneficial Virus De-Install utility.
-
- | ...but suppose I
- | want/need to transfer a file to another system that is required to be virus-
- | free? How to I get an uninfected copy of my file?
-
- Is there a difference between a virus that DOES NOT EXECUTE and no virus at
- all? If the auto-decompress program checks for a marker, then calls the
- virus IF the marker is present, then if no marker is present no virus is
- called.
-
- Another point - if the virus code is *IN* the marker.... then no marker,
- no virus - PERIOD.
-
-
- --
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