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RE: Virus from list member?

To: "Simon Matthews" <simon_atwork@hotmail.com>, mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: Virus from list member?
From: Barrie Robinson <barrier@bconnex.net>
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 11:09:52 -0700
Simon,

You are so right!  Long long before the advent of the demented mind's 
invention called virus, such virus like events were not unknown.  I used to 
be with Marconi and we sold many many defence systems based on the Myriad 
computer.  In testing out the multi-expensive systems we used to get all 
sorts of weird goings on.  Mystery plans would appear on the radar screen, 
commands would not be obeyed, calculations of intercepts would be way 
off.  But these were nothing to do with a virus - simply errors in 
programming - thus our huge system test programs.  So blaming a virus is a 
pretty dumb thing to do.


At 12:12 AM 8/26/2003 +0000, Simon Matthews wrote:
>Maybe it had a virus, or maybe not. Were the people who sent it back 
>qualified enough to tell?
>
>Imagine the phone call to the UK:
>Theatre staff:
>"Our console has got a virus"
>Strand (or whoever):
>"Describe the symptoms"
>Theatre staff describes random symptoms.
>Strand (sensing an opportunity for some revenue):
>"OK, perhaps it has a virus"
>And now the killer from Strand:
>"send it to us and we will look at it"
>
>The point is that by agreeing with the Theatre's possibly unqualified 
>diagnosis, Strand (or whoever) is able to get some business!
>
>Many people assume that they have a virus when the problem may be simply a 
>mis-configuration, or some other problem. Just look at the JDBMGR/good 
>times (or whatever) emails that describe fictional viruses. Many people 
>believed them. I sure much money has been made "cleaning off" these 
>non-existent viruses.
>
>All of the above is not intended to claim that viruses are not a menace to 
>computer users (they are), just that much of the "damage" done by viruses 
>is actually done by owners/users who mistakenly think their machine is 
>infected.
>
>
>>Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2003 02:40:23 -0500
>>From: Glenn Schnittke <schnittke@mindspring.com>
>>Subject: RE: Virus from list member?
>>
>>
>>
>>A few years ago I was with a show at the 1894 Opera House in Galveston 
>>(my all-time favorite theater in the world) and we were having trouble 
>>programming the lighting console. It was a Strand Mini-Light Pallett and 
>>reputed to be the only one still working in America. Maybe the only one 
>>that ever worked in America (BTW, it's British. There's your LBC 
>>content). But it had always been reliable. We had always been able to 
>>walk in, load our disk, re-patch and go to O'Malley's for Frito pie and a 
>>Bass Ale or two before showtime. That night was different. The design on 
>>these things is about as proprietary as it gets, with main chips from 
>>god-only-knows what ee's nightmare thrown together into a generally good 
>>solid working package. There is no way in hell anyone could have, with 
>>malice aforethought, written code to disrupt this machine, but after we 
>>left, we got word back that they had sent the console back to Strand and, 
>>yes there was a virus.
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Get MSN 8 and enjoy automatic e-mail virus protection.
>
>

Regards
Barrie

Barrie Robinson
barrier@bconnex.net 

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