[Info-vax] "Shanghai Stock Exchange" and OpenVMS

[Bill Gunshannon]

In article <glatqs$4e9$2 at tempo.update.uu.se>,
	Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> writes:
> Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
>> johnwallace4 at yahoo.co.uk wrote:
>>> On Jan 22, 2:38 am, "Richard B. Gilbert" <rgilber... at comcast.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>> koeh... at spock.koehler.athome.net wrote:
>>>>> In article <6thdpsFb03n... at mid.individual.net>, billg... at cs.uofs.edu 
>>>>> (Bill Gunshannon) writes:
>>>>>> How many tmes you going to trot out this same tired story.  Getting 
>>>>>> hit with
>>>>>> a virus is not as much a OS or system problem as it is a user problem.
>>>>>    Which is why we get hit with virii on VMS every day?
>>>>>    Seriously, heavily trained Windows admins have not been able to 
>>>>> protect
>>>>>    our Windows systems.  Not if they're plugged in and turned on.
>>>> You can safely plug them in and turn them on.  It's when you connect
>>>> them to a network that you have to worry about "electronic organisms"
>>>> infecting your Windows systems.
>>>
>>> "It's when you connect them to a network that you have to worry"
>>>
>>> Or also when you allow storage devices or files originating from
>>> another box to be plugged in (eg via CD or USB stick) to the system
>>> we're considering - there are other virus transport mechanisms besides
>>> network connections (maybe you meant that but didn't say it as
>>> such)...
>>>
>>> So the choice would seem to be permanent isolation, or permanent
>>> worry, or keep taking the happy pills. It's obviously unthinkable to
>>> change the underlying OS, right?
>> 
>> Storage devices have been a vector for malware in the past, but you 
>> don't hear much about such incidents any longer!
>> 
>> Once upon at time the mad race to "steal" software fueled the flow of 
>> virii via floppy disks.  While it's still possible, to propagate a virus 
>> in this way, I don't think it's anywhere near as common as it used to be!
> 
> Ever heard of the music CDs with hidden rootkits that install when you 
> play the CD on your PC?
> 

They make use of the autorun feature of windows.  Turn it off and it won't
happen.  Of course, you'll have to launch your CD Player manually.  :-)

bill

-- 
Bill Gunshannon          |  de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n.  Three wolves
billg999 at cs.scranton.edu |  and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
University of Scranton   |
Scranton, Pennsylvania   |         #include <std.disclaimer.h>