[comp.virus] Dutch Intermediar mentions "Benign viruses"

jurjen@cwi.nl (Jurjen NE Bos) (09/03/90)

In the latest issue of the Dutch weekly "Intermediar" I found an
article that shocked me.  It told about a virus that was made to
"update" databases that contained peoples' addresses and such.  The
author claimed that it was convenient to have up-to-date databases
that were maintained this way.  He used as an example that "If you
look for people interested in a certain subject, you may find only two
people if you search on Monday, and already six if you look on
Wednesday."

I find it frightening that somebody finds this kind of viruses a good
thing, while we know that every idiot can change those programs to
very nasty harmful objects.

He mentioned that a virus doing this was developed to "update"
HyperCard databases.  So Mac users, look out for this guy!

It's just a warning.  There are people who believe in "good" viruses.
- --
|                 | "Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what |
| Jurjen N.E. Bos | it might appear to others that what you were or might |
|                 | have been was not otherwise than what you had been    |
|  jurjen@cwi.nl  | would have appeared to them to be otherwise."         |