3.579 eve of the viral attack... (41)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Thu, 12 Oct 89 19:58:11 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 579. Thursday, 12 Oct 1989.
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 89 19:04:32 EDT
From: Natalie Maynor <MAYNOR@MSSTATE>
Subject: Re: 3.560 queries (123)
In answer to John Morris's question about the Columbus Day virus
(although this answer will no doubt be after the fact -- or let's
hope the fiction), here's a brief posting that I received from the
PCSUPT list:
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 89 12:38:00 EST
Reply-To: Forum for the discussion of PC user support issues
<PCSUPT-L@YALEVM>
Sender: Forum for the discussion of PC user support issues
<PCSUPT-L@YALEVM>
Subject: Columbus Day virus
Yes, there really is a columbus day virus. It's also known as the
datacrime virus and it infects .com programs that don't have a 'd'
as the seventh letter (i.e. command.com is safe). You can check for
it by comparing the size of your com programs with the originals.
The chances of your computer being infected are actually quite
small, but IBM has a program available that will check your disk for
the virus. There are also several available through BBSs. And, yes,
you can fool the virus by keeping the date before oct.12.
***********************
And in answer to the question about whether any of the rest of us
have extra hidden files, yes. According to DOS chkdsk I have three
hidden files; when I run Norton Utilities FA, however, I can find
only two hidden files -- ibmbio.com and ibmdos.com. I've wondered
about the extra hidden file for ages but have not found an answer
from any of the computer gurus I've asked about it.
Natalie Maynor,English Dept., Miss. State Univ.