Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!polyslo!vlsi3b15!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!sei.cmu.edu!krvw
From: chinet!ignatz@att.att.com
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Software company distributing viruses (PC)
Message-ID: <0012.8909271119.AA09775@ge.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 26 Sep 89 21:43:51 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List 
Lines: 29
Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu

In article <0007.8909251241.AA29279@ge.sei.cmu.edu>
bnr-di!borynec@watmath.waterloo.edu (James Borynec) writes:
>Software companies may be the largest source of virus contamination
>around.  After all, they send disks everywhere and no one worries
>about 'shrink wrap' software being 'unclean'.  I have only been hit by
>two viruses - both came from software companies - one of which was
>Texas Instruments.  The guy in the office next door was hit by a copy
>of a virus on his (shrink wrap) copy of WordPerfect.  I think it is
>shocking that people are told just to watch out for viruses when
>engaged in software 'swapping'.  Everyone should regard EVERY disk
>that enters their machine with suspicion.

It's probably been mentioned before, but it can't hurt to repeat.
Some software houses--especially discount stores--have a very liberal
return policy.  Unfortunately, it seems that shrinkwrap equipment is
neither very expensive nor difficult to obtain, and some stores will
accept such returned software, repackage and re-shrinkwrap it, and
return it to the store shelf.  Thus, you really can't be certain that
the sealed shrink-wrap you bought *hasn't* been tampered with at some
point along the line.

It really is starting to look like either there will have to be
tamper-proof shrinkwrap (as resulted from the Tylenol disaster in the
OTC consumer market), or a general practice of scanning *any*
purchased software for contamination...

		Dave Ihnat
		ignatz@homebru.chi.il.us (preferred return address)
		ignatz@chinet.chi.il.us