[comp.virus] Random comments

XRJDM@SCFVM.GSFC.NASA.GOV (Joe McMahon) (06/28/89)

 <ACSAZ@SEMASSU.BITNET> (Alex Z.) asks:
>Besides nVir and Scores, what other viruses are `out' for the Mac.  I
>am interested in their frequency of appearence and how they can be
>identified and dealt with.

The current count is 9. Scores, nVIR (two strains and three clones -
MEV#, Hpat, and AIDS), INIT 29, Peace, and ANTI. Get a copy of my
virus doc stack from the LISTSERV at SCFVM; if you need help in doing
that, drop me some E-mail.

 Kenneth R. van Wyk <krvw@SEI.CMU.EDU> quotes Fred Cohen:
>                                             ... "On the very widely
>used Compuserve network, a virus was apparently planted to infect the
>initialization files of the Apple MacIntosh.  This virus was designed
>to put an advertisement on the screen on a particular date and then
>delete itself.  It was noticed by a programmer browsing through his
>system initialization files and was traced to a company that had added
>a program to the Compuserve library.  The perpetrator was barred from
>Compuserve 'forever'.  Compuserve has countered by providing a public
>domain program that constantly runs in the background checking for
>modifications to system initialization files and asks the user if
>these are desired...."

The virus portion is correct; it refers to the "Peace" virus. It was
distributed in a Trojan HyperCard stack. The anti-viral in question
is Vaccine, distributed by CE Software, *not* CompuServe. CIS did not
sponsor the development or distribution of this program; it was done
solely in a spirit of public service by Don Brown at CE Software.

  --- Joe M.