Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!noao!mcdsun!sunburn!gtx!al
From: al@gtx.com (0732)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Trojan Horse a Myth?
Message-ID: <459@gtx.com>
Date: Fri, 4-Dec-87 13:38:40 EST
Article-I.D.: gtx.459
Posted: Fri Dec  4 13:38:40 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 10-Dec-87 05:36:10 EST
Reply-To: al@gtx.UUCP (Al Filipski)
Organization: GTX Corporation, Phoenix
Lines: 21

I just read a newspaper article by Clarence Peterson of the Chicago Tribune
in which "Jan Harold Brunvard, University of Utah Professor of folklore
and author of three books about urban legends" dismisses the "Trojan Horse"
computer program as an "Urban Myth".  He says "I think there probably have been
some programs like that cooked up, but I can find no evidence that it's
actually been done, and it isn't as though it couldn't be detected and
destroyed."


It seems to me that the Professor is being quite naive.  We all know
how easy it would be to create a Trojan Horse Program, and even, with a
little more difficulty, make it infect the user's system in subtle
ways.  As for the question, "has anyone actually been hurt by one of
these?", I only know third-hand accounts.  Can anyone relate a
first-hand account of damage done to his/her system by a malicious
Trojan Horse?

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   | Alan Filipski, GTX Corp, 2501 W. Dunlap, Phoenix, Arizona 85021, USA |
   | {ihnp4,cbosgd,decvax,hplabs,seismo}!sun!sunburn!gtx!al (602)870-1696 |
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------