920302   DEFMTH9.CVP
 
                           BBS danger myth
 
I hear it from almost everyone I talk to about viri: "I'm in no
danger, I don't use a modem".
 
Yes, there are pirates, crackers and phreaks out there who frequent
bulletin board systems.  Yes, there are even pirates, crackers and
phreaks who run boards.  Yes, if you hang around even the best BBSes,
you will find lots of messages from ankies, techno-weenies and people
to who spelling and grammar are foreign concepts.
 
But bulletin board systems are not going to "automatically" infect
you.  Modems cannot infect you.  Reading messages cannot infect you
(albeit you might come across an ANSI bomb, but they can't "infect"
you).  Even downloading and running programs is not that dangerous. 
(In nine years of working with the local and remote "on-line"
community I have not yet downloaded a single infected file, at least
not one that wasn't sent to me by another researcher.)
 
Bulletin boards are not the major "vector" in the spread of computer
viral infections.  I can even go a fair way to "proving" that
statement.  The most "successful" viral programs have always been boot
sector infectors.  From my experience and studies, there are more
copies of "Stoned" out there than all other viral programs combined. 
And boot sector infectors are not spread over bulletin boards.  (I
said "are not".  I didn't say "can't".  Yes, you can use TELEDISK or
SENDDISK.  Yes, "droppers" are possible, and even known.  But droppers
are extremely rare, and most people don't even know what TELEDISK is.) 
Thus, the major vector *must* be disk swapping.
 
Bulletin boards are not the enemy.  In the computer virus arena,
bulletin boards may be your greatest friend.  Where can you get
information about computer viral programs: from newspapers which state
that backups are all the protection you need against Michelangelo?
from magazines which state that you need to disconnect the hard drive
if you get an infection? from television stations which speak of BSIs
and show the screen produced by Cascade?  You read a lot of nonsense
on BBSes and networks about viri, but you get some information, too. 
And the shareware programs are generally the best, cheapest and most
up to date.
 
After all, you can't even get DISKSECURE commercially.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1992   920302   DEFMTH9.CVP

==============                      
Vancouver      ROBERTS@decus.ca    | "Do you get guns with your 
Institute for  Robert_Slade@sfu.ca |  gun magazines?  No.
Research into  rslade@cue.bc.ca    |  Do you get viruses with your 
User           p1@CyberStore.ca    |  virus magazines?  Yes."
Security       Canada V7K 2G6      |               - Kevin Marcus