76 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
76 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ VIRUS REPORT ³
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³ MacMag ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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Synonyms: Peace virus.
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Date of Origin: February, 1988.
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Place of Origin: Montreal, Canada.
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Host Machine: Macintosh.
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MacMag may hold the record for the virus that achieved the greatest
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notoriety in the shortest period of time. Thousands of machines were
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infected in less than a month! A Macintosh virus, it was planted by
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Richard Brandow, publisher of MacMag, a Canadian Macintosh magazine.
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The message it displayed was "Richard Brandow, publisher of MacMag, and
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its entire staff would like to take the opportunity to convey their
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universal message of peace to all Macintosh users around the world." The
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"universal message of peace" flashed on the screens of thousands of
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Macintosh owners on March 2, 1988, did no other damage, then erased its
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own instructions.
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The author, Drew Davidson, "thought we'd release it and it would be
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kind of neat."<Note: Philip Elmer-DeWitt, "Invasion of the Data
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Snatchers!", Time Magazine, September 26, 1988, p. 62 ff.>
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This was probably the first virus to find its way into commercial
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software. Richard Brandow, a collaborator with Davidson and publisher
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of a Canadian computer magazine, distributed the virus with game
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software called "Mr. Potato Head" at a February, 1988 meeting of the
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Montreal Macintosh users group. Marc Canter, who was speaking at the
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meeting, worked for MacroMind Inc. of Chicago, a firm doing consulting
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work for Aldus. He brought the game home, tried it on his Mac, then began
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to review software to be shipped to Aldus. The virus infected the disk
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sent to Seattle, which was reproduced. About 3,000<Note: Knight-Ridder
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new service, "For Many Users, `Viruses' are Nothing New" reprinted in
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The Washington Post, November 28, 1988, p. F25.> to 5,000<Note: George
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Tibbits "New Computer `Virus' Giving Software Firms a Headache" The
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Washington Post, March 17, 1988, p. C11.> copies of an infected Aldus
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Freehandteaching disk were made with a disk duplicating machine, then
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shipped to computer stores around the country. Aldus recalled all of the
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copies.
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MacMag can be ignored. If there is still a copy left, it will destroy
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itself after displaying its message. Nevertheless, it can be detected
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and killed with Disinfectant.
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ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
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º This document was adapted from the book "Computer Viruses", º
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º which is copyright and distributed by the National Computer º
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º Security Association. It contains information compiled from º
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º many sources. To the best of our knowledge, all information º
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º presented here is accurate. º
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º º
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º Please send any updates or corrections to the NCSA, Suite 309, º
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º 4401-A Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008. Or call our BBS º
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º and upload the information: (202) 364-1304. Or call us voice at º
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º (202) 364-8252. This version was produced May 22, 1990. º
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º º
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º The NCSA is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving º
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º computer security. Membership in the association is just $45 per º
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º year. Copies of the book "Computer Viruses", which provides º
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º detailed information on over 145 viruses, can be obtained from º
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º the NCSA. Member price: $44; non-member price: $55. º
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º º
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º The document is copyright (c) 1990 NCSA. º
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º º
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º This document may be distributed in any format, providing º
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º this message is not removed or altered. º
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ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
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