Date: Fri, 11 Apr 1997 11:52:25 -0500 (CDT) From: Paul Burkhardt <burkhard@aries.scs.uiuc.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1377$foo@default> Subject: Re: Viruses and CP List
Dear G.J.B. and List,
It is possible to get viruses from email which have binary attachments.
Downloading these attachments to your harddrive and executing the
attachments can indeed activate a virus, as evidenced by the MS word macro
viruses. However, you cannot get a virus from reading a file, especially
if it is ascii.
I understand that some may feel that viruses are greatly overexaggerated
but those people must realize that they are fortunate not to ever have had
a virus. I suggest nonbelievers of the virus scare to act on the
conviction of their words and execute viruses such as the 'Trojan Horse'
and 'PKZIP300.EXE' on their computer systems to see whether the damage is
exaggerated or not.
My last comment is to congratulate everyone for providing an eclectic and
diversified foundation of knowledge on this list, professional or not.
Paul Burkhardt
> I am not saying that Computer viruses dont exist, but the scare is greatly,
> greatly overexaggerated. And to those claiming that you can get a
> 'virus' just by downloading an e-mail message, I wish to say: 'cut
> out that nonsense'. The people that make such claims that are often people with
> something I would like to call 'pseudoknowledge'. These people, just
> like those who have 'pseudoknowledge' about plants, are more
> dangerous than the object of the 'scares' they tell stories about.
>
> About this list.
> This list, just as the Orchid List Digest is deteriorating. If the
> listowners do not want to have the professionals opt out, they will
> have to scrutinise the messages.
> G.J.B.
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