cgs@umd5.umd.edu (Chris Sylvain) (06/06/88)
[ I'm posting this article verbatim as printed in the _News Breaks_ section of the April 28th issue of EDN as authored by Steven H Leibson. The part I think is of most interest is the bit about the _Center for Computer Disease Control_. ] After one of its computers became infected with a destructive virus program (sometimes called a Trojan horse program), Sophco Inc (Boulder, CO, (303) 444-1542) added an inoculation module to its $195 Protec software-pro- tection package for computers running MS-DOS version 3.0 and higher. An engineer at the company had downloaded a seemingly innocuous program (an X- rated animated graphics program) from an electronic bulletin board to a com- puter's hard disk. That program contained an infectious module that installed delayed-action routines into executable software on the hard disk. Later, the routines destroyed the files on the disk. [See what having lust in your heart will do to you?] Protec version 3.2 can safeguard your programs with a protective virus program called Vaccinate, which you install in your executable files with ano- ther program called Syringe. The Protec system also includes a decoy program called Canary that you can use to test suspect software. You include Canary on a floppy disk along with the dubious software and run the suspect program. If the Canary program "dies" after the suspect program finishes, you know there's a virus program on your disk. [Anyone have any guesses how that sup- posed to work?] [Now here is the part I find most interesting:] Sophco has also initiated the Center for Computer Disease Control, which will act as a clearing house for information about such antisocial soft- ware. -- --==---==---==-- .. and shun the frumious Bandersnatch! .. ARPA: cgs@umd5.UMD.EDU BITNET: cgs%umd5@umd2 UUCP: ..!uunet!umd5.umd.edu!cgs
cjl@ecsvax.UUCP (Charles Lord) (06/06/88)
Are you sure that wasn't the 4/1 issue of EDN? (giggle, snort) along with Syringe and Canary does it have Specimen_Cup to test existing systems for infection? C. Lord cjl@ecsvax.UUCP/BITNET (look at header...)
japplega@csm9a.UUCP (Joe Applegate) (06/07/88)
In article <2792@umd5.umd.edu>, cgs@umd5.umd.edu (Chris Sylvain) writes: > > Sophco has also initiated the Center for Computer Disease Control, > which will act as a clearing house for information about such antisocial soft- > ware. > A Local MSDOS Users Group hosted a panel discussion on Viruses and the methods to protect against them... SOPHCO and the so called Disease Control Center were asked to participate but declined... I for one publically doubt the existance of the virus they claim to have discovered since SEX.EXE can be found on several BBS's in a harmless, though tasteless form! When confronted on the phone their rep still refused to participate in our discussion or to produce this virus in order to confirm it was anything other than a marketing ploy. The panel consisted of several sysops, a security expert from Storage Tek, a computer crime lawyer and a law professor. Not one of these experts had ever found a bonified virus and only one could claim to have found a trojan! The general consensus was that while viruses might exist their occurance was far more rare than the media hype would indicate! It was also agreed that much of this hype is a result of advertizing from companies claiming to have a solution to viruses... it was even proposed that some of these viruses might originate with such companies. Now we all know that companies which produce and market programs to protect users against viruses and trojans are simply doing so for our benefit and not to serve the almighty green god so.... Everyone should do their part to support the noble effort of this Center for Computer Disease Control by placing a little black sticky "trojan" write protect tab on every disk and keeping their green gods in their wallet! Joe Applegate - Colorado School of Mines Computing Center {seismo, hplabs}!hao!isis!csm9a!japplega or SYSOP @ M.O.M. AI BBS - (303) 273-3989 - 300/1200/2400 8-N-1 24 hrs. *** UNIX is a philosophy, not an operating system *** *** BUT it is a registered trademark of AT&T, so get off my back ***