Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ames!ncar!noao!arizona!naucse!wew
From: wew@naucse.UUCP (Bill Wilson)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: Are these binaries "safe"?
Message-ID: <831@naucse.UUCP>
Date: 10 Aug 88 15:17:21 GMT
References: <1951@csccat.UUCP>
Organization: Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ
Lines: 40

> 	Don't rock the boat! If viruses really existed, they would be
> 	an indication of the skill of computer users exceeding the skill
> 	of manufacturer's product designers and clearly mere users
> 	don't have the clout of said manufacturers so they can't be
> 	better. Even a fool or a criminal can understand that!
> 
> 	Scientific curiousity is dangerous to the public order and
> 	must not be allowed to survive. This is generally true, as
> 	can be seen by all the terrible things that have resulted from
> 	it, and is especially true of computers because only experts
> 	can fully appreciate the financial and security concerns
> 	involved. It is far better to stop all curiosity than to allow
> 	even one potential abuser and risk embarrassment to those
> 	patriotic high-priests who make decisions for us all.
> 
> 			CLBrunow - ka5sof

I hope you are kidding.  It is a philosophy like this one that spawned
the Spanish Inquisition and the dark ages.  Viruses apparently do exist
(Aldus Pagemaker is one good example of a commercial package that was
infected) and the more we can learn about them and about trojan programs
the better off we are.  I am not for mass hysteria, but I do believe
that we can be bitten.  I've been hit by psuedo-trojan programs (pranks)
and it wouldn't take much to make one dangerous.  If I wanted I could
produce a trojan program that would format a hard drive or look for
certain files to destroy.  A good example of mainframe viruses is the
corewars program.  Start it up and it gobbles memory until the machine
chokes.  On Sigma Six computers (old Xerox) there were ways to simulate
the system and let someone log on to gain their passwords.  If curiosity
was stifled then systems programmers would not be able to fight this
type of activity.  Their may be no true viruses that can completely
replicate themselves, but there are trojans and learning how to
combat them is in the end helpful.  Let's not go back to the dark ages!
Progress or regress, that's all we get!

-- 
Bill Wilson                          (Bitnet: ucc2wew@nauvm)
Northern AZ Univ
Flagstaff, AZ 86011
{These views are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer}