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[LUG] virus warning - an opportunity for free ./ oss

 

Hi

Not sure how many of you have received this message on not opening a message called invitation that opens a virus, (hmm YAWV - Yet anotherindows virus), aparently alters the zero sector on the hdd, and therefore destroys all data, but it has occured to me that, this should be jumped on by the OSS community to promote decent software that does not suffer from this constant virus, spyware, nonsense we have with WIndows, I have recieved this warning mail twice and smugly replied to each that I no longer use Microsoft. In some cases I say I use Linux, but I find that that baffles no technical users out there, if they are curious as to how I can use a computer with out Microsoft I can tell them or direct them to the lug site.

IIRC the zero sector contains a hex identifier byte that relates to the filesystem being used, so 16 (I think this is hex actually), would mean DOS - FAT16, in which case would using a hex editor work as a fix?. Also what about if a user has more than one partition, (even for windows), surely a big hdd, can only be affected if it's one big partition. would a data drive (D) be affected, if C: was trashed Can booting into windows on a dual boot system, opening the virus trash all sectors in cluding the Linux drive which windows can't even see anyway. it may screw up the dual booting, but as long as the partitions are still there, then a trusty bootdisk should allow booting into linux and the restoration of the mbr.

Just a thought.

I don't however want to sound complacent.

Of course this is an excellent opportunity to install Linux on infected computers, or rather trashed computers.

Paul

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