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Mac virus discovered at EPA, vaccination called successful
Abstracts of Recent Articles and Literature
formation Security. William H. Murray suggested a four-point program for detecting and eliminating viruses whether users are sharing programs over mainframebased networks or swapping disks. (1) Don't accept a program from untrusted sources. (2) If you accept a program from an untrusted source, don't share it with anyone. (3) Don't use a program from an untrusted source while your computer is connected to a network or bulletin board service. (4) Get an "epidemiologist" on the staffto study common characteristics of programs or systems that have been infected. Security experts at the conference agreed that government computing, where a lot ofprograms are shared via disks and networks, is a prime breeding ground for viruses.
Government Computer News, April I5, I988, p. 17. Macintosh Virus Seeks EDS Signatures, Nick Amett. The computer virus that infected numerous Macs, including many at federal agencies, seeks programming signatures ("Eric" and "Vult") belonging to proprietary software developed by Electronic Data Systems, according to a spokesman for EDS. The virus is a nuisance that causes printing and system problems, destroying data only occasionally as a consequence of apparently unintentional viruscaused crashes. The target signatures were used in applications developed by EDS but never released to the public. A program called Killscores, which removes the virus from infected disks is available on the Compuserve and Macintosh bulletin boards and other public software exchanges.
Info World, April 25, 1988, p. 8.
426
Federal Officials P u z z l e d by Computer Virus Attacks, Nell
Munro and RichardA. Dance. The first confirmed computer virus to infect government systems infected at least 80 Apple Macintosh machines at NASA and two at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The scores virus checks for infection and if the application program is "clean," it copies three different versions o f itself into each of four system files. All 12 copies of the virus must be eliminated to disinfect the system. The user inadvertently activates the virus when using an application. It does not copy itself into data files. The NASA computer manager said that bulletin boards were a possible source of the virus.
Government Computer News, April 29, 1988, p. 89.
Apple Releases " A n t i - V i r a l " Program, Nick Arnett. Apple Computer has released a free antiviral program called Virus RX. A spokeswoman for the company said that the program would alert users to the possible presence of the "Scores" virus or other viruses. Virus RX checks for damage to files, including damage caused by factors other than viruses, but is not all-encompassing. The Scores virus has altered programs on computers at several federal agencies and corporations, including Apple field offices, lnfo World, May 2, 1988,
p. 8.
Computer Viruses Can Infect Entire Organizations, Angel L. Rivera. Four basic types of malicious software may be part of a computer virus: a trapdoor, a logic bomb, a worm program, and a Trojan horse. The virus program searches the computer for another program that is uninfected and
then makes a copy of itself and inserts the "germ" at the beginning of the healthy program. The infected program then executes the virus code before beginning normal processing. Several detection products are mentioned in the article. Government Computer News,
April29, 1988, pp. 37, 43.
Mac Virus Discovered at EPA, Vaccination Called Successful, Richard A. Danca. Apple Macintosh computers at the Environmental Protection Agency have fallen victim to a rampant virus widely affecting Macs, but agency and contractor officials said all the machines are clean except for occasional reinfection. Apple Computer Inc. has released Virus Rx, a free program to check whether a hard disk has been infected and has begun an educational campaign to promote "safe computing practices." No one at EPA or other affected agencies has been able to find a source for the virus. FBI agents are investigating its spread.
Government Computer News, May 13, 1988, p. 4.
Security Habits Build Healthy Software, DavidJ. Stang. Worms and viruses are extremely rare but they can be extremely damaging. For maximum protection, test new software on a test computer; when possible, try new software on a floppy drive machine that has no hard disk or has its hard disk turned off. Choose software with one-stop distribution histories. Read the virus and worm lists available on most bulletin boards. Keep master copies o f all programs on floppies. When a virus is suspected, use a file comparison utility to determine if the file on the hard disk differs from the original on the floppy. Use a program that can
formation Security. William H. Murray suggested a four-point program for detecting and eliminating viruses whether users are sharing programs over mainframebased networks or swapping disks. (1) Don't accept a program from untrusted sources. (2) If you accept a program from an untrusted source, don't share it with anyone. (3) Don't use a program from an untrusted source while your computer is connected to a network or bulletin board service. (4) Get an "epidemiologist" on the staffto study common characteristics of programs or systems that have been infected. Security experts at the conference agreed that government computing, where a lot ofprograms are shared via disks and networks, is a prime breeding ground for viruses.
Government Computer News, April I5, I988, p. 17. Macintosh Virus Seeks EDS Signatures, Nick Amett. The computer virus that infected numerous Macs, including many at federal agencies, seeks programming signatures ("Eric" and "Vult") belonging to proprietary software developed by Electronic Data Systems, according to a spokesman for EDS. The virus is a nuisance that causes printing and system problems, destroying data only occasionally as a consequence of apparently unintentional viruscaused crashes. The target signatures were used in applications developed by EDS but never released to the public. A program called Killscores, which removes the virus from infected disks is available on the Compuserve and Macintosh bulletin boards and other public software exchanges.
Info World, April 25, 1988, p. 8.
426
Federal Officials P u z z l e d by Computer Virus Attacks, Nell
Munro and RichardA. Dance. The first confirmed computer virus to infect government systems infected at least 80 Apple Macintosh machines at NASA and two at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The scores virus checks for infection and if the application program is "clean," it copies three different versions o f itself into each of four system files. All 12 copies of the virus must be eliminated to disinfect the system. The user inadvertently activates the virus when using an application. It does not copy itself into data files. The NASA computer manager said that bulletin boards were a possible source of the virus.
Government Computer News, April 29, 1988, p. 89.
Apple Releases " A n t i - V i r a l " Program, Nick Arnett. Apple Computer has released a free antiviral program called Virus RX. A spokeswoman for the company said that the program would alert users to the possible presence of the "Scores" virus or other viruses. Virus RX checks for damage to files, including damage caused by factors other than viruses, but is not all-encompassing. The Scores virus has altered programs on computers at several federal agencies and corporations, including Apple field offices, lnfo World, May 2, 1988,
p. 8.
Computer Viruses Can Infect Entire Organizations, Angel L. Rivera. Four basic types of malicious software may be part of a computer virus: a trapdoor, a logic bomb, a worm program, and a Trojan horse. The virus program searches the computer for another program that is uninfected and
then makes a copy of itself and inserts the "germ" at the beginning of the healthy program. The infected program then executes the virus code before beginning normal processing. Several detection products are mentioned in the article. Government Computer News,
April29, 1988, pp. 37, 43.
Mac Virus Discovered at EPA, Vaccination Called Successful, Richard A. Danca. Apple Macintosh computers at the Environmental Protection Agency have fallen victim to a rampant virus widely affecting Macs, but agency and contractor officials said all the machines are clean except for occasional reinfection. Apple Computer Inc. has released Virus Rx, a free program to check whether a hard disk has been infected and has begun an educational campaign to promote "safe computing practices." No one at EPA or other affected agencies has been able to find a source for the virus. FBI agents are investigating its spread.
Government Computer News, May 13, 1988, p. 4.
Security Habits Build Healthy Software, DavidJ. Stang. Worms and viruses are extremely rare but they can be extremely damaging. For maximum protection, test new software on a test computer; when possible, try new software on a floppy drive machine that has no hard disk or has its hard disk turned off. Choose software with one-stop distribution histories. Read the virus and worm lists available on most bulletin boards. Keep master copies o f all programs on floppies. When a virus is suspected, use a file comparison utility to determine if the file on the hard disk differs from the original on the floppy. Use a program that can