[comp.virus] Does write-protection work? ...for Mac

minich@d.cs.okstate.edu (Robert Minich) (06/02/90)

USERASSJ@LNCC.BITNET (Alberto Sulaiman Sade Junior) writes:
| SOME TIMES AGO I READ THAT IS POSSIGLE A VIRUS INFECT A DISKETTE
| PHISICALLY PROTECTED.  I KNOW IT IS AN OLD DISCUSSION BUT IS IT REALLY
| POSSIBLE ?
|
| [Ed. Yes, this discussion has come up a few times before.  After much
| heated discussion, the consensus was that (on a PC), the write
| protection is implemented by hardware in the floppy disk drive
| (according to the IBM Tech. Ref. schematics).  At least in the case of
| PCs, I urge us to consider this matter closed unless someone can come
| up with conclusive proof to the contrary (i.e., send me a piece of
| source code that proves it).]

  Let me add that all macintoshes implement write protection for
floppies through a hardware mechanism.

- --
| _    /| | Robert Minich             |
| \'o.O'  | Oklahoma State University |
| =(___)= | minich@a.cs.okstate.edu   |
|    U    | - Bill sez "Ackphtth"     |