-=> Quoting Adam Csik to Betty Holder <=-
 AC> This is a hunch or idea but is it possible to maybe turn up 
 AC> voltage or overload a monitor to react as in "blowing-up" 
 AC> or "catching fire"?
I think the moderator asked us all not to discuss so-called
hardware destroying viruses and exploding monitors.  But as
to your question (and I hope I don't get jumped on for
answering), I am not aware of any way of adjusting monitor
voltages by software.  A program could make a video card send
a higher sweep rate than the monitor can support, and many
legitimate programs do that.  As far as that damaging the
monitor, maybe only in rare instances.  I would be more
concerned with using the wrong drivers than with the alleged
possibility of viruses blowing up a monitor.  Like I said
in the other post, I believe that the monitor either would
have to be about ready to go anyway (or someone tinkered
with the monitor) before any program *period* takes it out.
     I guess a virus could burn lines (or a pentagram or 
something) onto the screen, but only if the user isn't aware 
of what is going on and the image is allowed to remain on 
the screen.  But so could any other program.
     What starts the rumors and urban legends oftentimes 
is coincidences and superstitions (unsubstantiated beliefs 
that one thing causes another).  If your monitor went
bad on its own, and you later did a scan and found a virus
in your system, then it may be natural to want to believe
that the virus damaged the monitor, since that appears to
be the easiest explanation.  Afterall, who wants to believe
that they made a poor choice in buying a monitor or that
something they did to it was what damaged it?  There might
be a good use for superstitious reasoning, like tell users
that viewing pornos may cause a monitor to explode (I heard
about a TV that exploded while someone was watching a sex
scene....and they never rented any more such tapes).  But
really, there is no direct cause and effect relationship
between the content of material being viewed, and whether
a tv or monitor explodes or not.
                                            Betty
--- GEcho 1.11+
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