Re: Viruses

["Paul Camp" <pjcamp@coastal.edu>]

> There has been a new round of seemingly bogus virus warnings.  BUT now I
> wonder:  Is it _ever_ _possible_ for a virus to be communicated in e-mail??  
> Yes, I know that some will say that viruses can only be communicated in an
> executable, but reconfirm this for me.
>
> What if the msg contains JAVA or HTTP script????

In principle, you could make a Java virus and distribute it by email 
though an ActiveX virus would be much more likely. The security model 
for Java is a great deal stronger than that for ActiveX.

In order to make it work, however, you would need to be using an 
email reader that automatically executes embedded code. Most of them 
don't though those associated with the major browsers do (which is a 
good reason to not use them for email purposes).

With the forthcoming Windows 98 this could be a serious hazard since 
ActiveX controls permeate the Active Desktop and security is 
virtually nonexistent. The last time I bothered to look, Microsoft's 
only official comment on the issue was "you should have known what 
was there before you clicked on it."

To my knowledge, no one has yet managed to pull off a virus of this 
type. Given the way it would have to be distributed, I doubt whether 
it would spread very rapidly, if at all. It would have to be a 
*really* good email to make me want to forward it to all my friends 
immediately.

> Can a virus possibly be communicated via a WWW page?
>
> You might well guess that I have just discovered a virus on my system and
> can see NO way for it to have been communicated.  So don't read this msg!!!!!

They come in surprising ways. Could be on a floppy you forgot to 
reformat, occasionally viruses have come in on installation disks 
from major software vendors . . . If you are curious about your 
particular virus, you can look it up at

http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACVirusDatabase.html

Good luck!

Paul J. Camp                   "The Beauty of the Universe
Assistant Professor of Physics  consists not only of unity
Coastal Carolina University     in variety but also of 
Conway, SC   29528              variety in unity.
pjcamp@coastal.edu                    --Umberto Eco
pjcamp@postoffice.worldnet.att.net    The Name of the Rose
(803)349-2227                         
fax: (803)349-2926