Re: Can such a virus be written .... (PC)

Article View: comp.virus

Article #4623

#4623

From: Mark Aitchison, U of Canty; Phys...
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1991 23:19

26 lines
1456 bytes

Kevin_Haney%NIHCR31.BITNET@CU.NIH.GOV writes:
> vanaards@project4.computer-science.manchester.ac.uk (Steven van Aardt)
> writes:
>>
>>   Is it possible to write a PC virus which installs itself whenever
>> you place an infected disk in the drive and do a DIR command ?

I wrote...

> Yes. But on a PC this requires certain conditions, which mean it
> probably wouldn't spread very far.
>
> I would like to know just what these conditions are.

I'm not sure if I should broadcast the way in which a virus could do
this, but I suppose I could mention the conditions...

(1) Have ANSI.SYS (or similar) loaded,
(2) Possibly make assumptions about what the user will type next,
(3) Assume the user doesn't look too hard at the directory listing.

I would expect such a virus, if it can be written, to have a low
chance of spreading far. However, it is important to accept that
*possibly* a virus could spread on PC's this way.

Mark Aitchison.

Technical Details

Message-ID: <0009.9106261903.AA01188@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>

Path:

arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!widener!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw

Show Full Headers

Complete Article Headers

Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!widener!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw
From: PHYS169@csc.canterbury.ac.nz (Mark Aitchison, U of Canty; Physics)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Can such a virus be written .... (PC)
Message-ID: <0009.9106261903.AA01188@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 25 Jun 91 23:19:00 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List <VIRUS-L@LEHIIBM1>
Lines: 26
Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu