-=> Quoting Curtis Canning to Rick Collins <=-
-=> FidoMail to 1:163/215, please.-=<
 CC> You are going to look back in 20 years time, when they
 CC> have invented a virus proof file and then think of what
 CC> I have typed about files not getting infected, and then
 CC> you will realize that nothing is impossible :)
 
rc> No, I'm not. If you want to keep your beer cold, do you buy a 
rc> separate cooler for each bottle of beer, or do you put _all_ the
rc> beer in _one_ cooler? 
 CC> But if you had a centralized program to protect your
 CC> files so they will not be infected, that would be a good
 CC> idea, ThunderByte and other programs use the same method
 CC> but they don't make the files virus proof, they only
 CC> update the file ANTI-VIR.DAT info so the scanner knows if
 CC> something has changed.
Read my lips: a secure operating system is what exists today to
prevent virus infections.  There is simply no _need_ for each program
to offer it's own protection when the OS can do the whole job itself.
 
rc> An O/S which is properly written can prevent a virus infection -
rc> and there are several operating systems _now_ that do just
rc> that. The programs don't have to be made "virus proof" because
rc> they are protected by the OS. 
cc> But doesn't it make life a whole lot better once you have
cc> vaccinated your programs you don't have to worry about them
cc> again? No more worrying about trying to upkeep your Antivirus
cc> programs, and no more money spent on Antivirus programs. 
There are _no_ AV programs that run on the operating systems I'm
referring to, because there is _no_ chance of an infection occuring
in the first place.
 
CC> What do you call a basic knowledge of and ANSI?
CC> Viewing it and formating your hard drive?
A basic knowledge of the ANSI command syntax is all you need to
determine if a particular text file contains an ANSI bomb.
 
RC> As for a "program bomb" - define what you mean by the term.
CC> When you run a program which was made with a proper
CC> programming language like ASM or PASCAL it formats
CC> your hard drive.
That's a piece of malware.  There is a defense.  Don't run programs
when you don't know the source.
 
rc> If it's a text file, then it's an ANSI bomb you're talking
rc> about. Who runs ANSI.SYS these days, anyway? No-one I know. 
cc> Most BBS advertisement files are not text files, they are full
cc> working programs to advertise there bbs, like displaying
cc> GIF/ANSI pictures or scrolling text and music. 
cc> So that is why it is very dangerous, because most
cc> people like to run those advertising files.
I have better things to do with my time.
TTFN. Rick.
Ottawa, ON 24 Feb 18:42 
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