🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <40RYPFALU$hxEwAF@asjones.demon.co.uk>
           asjones@asjones.demon.co.uk "Adrian Jones" writes:

| I recently started finding files on my system in various directories
| called null which are zero bytes long. I have no idea where they are
| coming from and when I delete them they simply come back again. I am
| reasonably sure it isn't a virus but I can't think of what else it could
| be.
| Does anyone know what this is? If so can you email me as I don't check
| news much, thanks.

   That's a very antisocial comment.  You're asking for net help but
   trying to deny other users the chance to learn from the answer.  If
   you really cannot be bothered to read news after you have posted a
   question then at least ask posters to email you a _copy_ of their
   newsgroup posting.

|
| Adrian Jones
| ASJones@asjones.demon.co.uk   /   a.s.jones@bradford.ac.uk
|
   This is a suggestion.

   You have recently written/installed/edited or whatever a batch file
   with a _comment/remark_ line containing the characters ' > null '.

   As far as DOS concerned a line begining 'rem' is simply another
   command line with that just happens to have an internal command that
   doesn't do very much.  Being a command line you can redirect output.
   Since there isn't any output you get a file of zero length after the
   command has completed, i.e. DOS moves onto the next line.

   Another way of saying the same thing is that DOS parses the line for
   redirection, piping etc _before_ it realises it's a comment line. Its
   very easy to write a redirection statement in a line that _you_ think
   is a comment line.  Unfortunately DOS dosen't agree with your
   thinking.

--
Peter Hayward, Cambridge, UK.      | In a democracy the public will only
peter@cdsl.demon.co.uk             | respect laws if they respect the
tel +44-1223-312-923               | politicians that make them.