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- From: ygoland@edison.SEAS.UCLA.EDU (The Jester)
- Newsgroups: comp.virus
- Subject: Re: Viral Based Distribution System
- Message-ID: <0017.9301051858.AA13030@barnabas.cert.org>
- Date: 24 Dec 92 22:10:21 GMT
- Sender: virus-l@lehigh.edu
- Lines: 47
- Approved: news@netnews.cc.lehigh.edu
-
- bontchev@fbihh.informatik.uni-hamburg.de (Vesselin Bontchev) writes:
- >ygoland@edison.SEAS.UCLA.EDU (The Jester) writes:
- >
- >> If this is an
- >> effective means of distribution then why use a virus at all?
- >
- >The question is incorrect. According to Dr. Cohen's definition, "this"
- >- -is- a virus. And, since you are using it to do something you would
- >like to be done, it is obviously a benevolent virus. Do you see the
- >misunderstanding now? It's all matter of definitions...
-
- Yes.. I understand. And may I say I STRONGLY disagree with Dr.
- Cohen's definition. A program in the login script that checks if you
- have been updated and then updates you is NOT a virus. The program in
- the loader does NOT reproduce itself it reproduces another program
- which is itself NOT a virus. (Lets ignore the obvious case where the
- loader installs an infected program =) For me the acid test of a virus
- is:Can it reproduce itself? Is the login script programing trying to
- run around and find other login scripts or executable files to infect?
- No. It doesn't infect anyone! 'Damnit Jim, its not alive!'
-
- >> In conclusion, a system that changes in an unpredictable manner,
- >> that uses hard to track mechanisms of change, is a security
- >> nightmare.
- >
- >Yup... Ever tried MS Windows?... :-)
-
- After reading this line I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my
- chair. AS a matter of fact I have. Thats why I now run on OS/2. What
- do you say about a program whose most recent release has as it's main
- selling point "we fixed all the bugs in our previous release". Of
- course microsoft doesn't have 'bugs', they have 'features'. =) But I
- digress.
-
- >> The Jester-PGP Ver2 upon Request
- >Please consider this a request... :-)
-
- Actually I bet you already have it, I have yours. You can finger me
- but I'll send it to you anyway just to be annoying. =)
-
- Yaron (The Jester) Goland
- p.s. see mister moderator, I remembered!!! =)
- - --
- The Jester
- "Whats a Knock Out like you doing in a computer generated Gin
- joint like this one?"-William Riker
- "I'm god, whats your excuse?"-The Jester
-