====================== BULLETIN #1 =======================
    The following 2 Articles I got from 2 magazines (I will give the reference
    at the end of the article), and I thought that you might like to see this.


                                   WARNING!

Warning: Someone is trying to destroy your data.  Beware of the SUDDEN upsurge
of "Trojan Horse" programs on Bulletin Boards and in the public domain.  These
programs purport to be useful utilities, but, in reality, they are designed to
sack your system.
One has shown up as  EGABTR, a program that claims to show you how to maximize
the features of IBM'S Enhanced graphics Adapter, and has also been spotted as
a new super-directory program.  It actually erases the file allocation tables
on your hard disk.  For good measure, it asks you to put a disk in Drive A:,
then another in Drive B:.  After it has erased those FATs too, it displays,

                       "  Got You! Arf! Arf!  "

Don't run any public-domain program that is not a known quantity.  Have someone
you know and trust vouch for it.  ALWAYS examine it FIRST with DEBUG, looking
for all the ASCII strings and data.  If there is anything even slightly
suspicious about it, do a cursory disassembly.  Be wary of disk calls
(INTERRUPT 13H), especially if the program has no business writing to the disk.
Run your system in Floppy only mode with write protect tabs on the disk or junk
disks in the drives.
Speaking of Greeks bearing gifts, Aristotle said that the unexamined life is
not worth living.  The unexamined program is not worth running.
                                                   - The Editors of PC
                                                   July 23, 1985
                                                   Volume 4, Number 15

Another bit of information I got from the ARPANET: Be careful what you put into
your machine.  There is out there making the rounds of the REMOTE BULLETIN
BOARDS a program called  VDIR.COM.  It is a little hard to tell what the
program is suppose to do.
What it actually does is TRASH your system.  It writes garbage onto ANY disk it
can find, including hard disks, and flashes up various messages telling you
what it is doing.  It's a TIME BOMB: once run, you can't be sure what will
happen next because it doesn't always do anything immediately.  At a later
time, though, it can CRASH your system.  Does this remind you of some of the
imbecilic copy-protection schemes threatened by companies such as Vault and
Defendisk?  Anyway, you'd do well to avoid VDIR.COM.  I expect there are a
couple of harmless-perhaps even useful-Public Domain programs floating about
with the name VDIR; and, of course, anyone warped enough to Launch this kind
of Trap once, can do it again.  Be careful about untested "Free" software.

                           Computing at Chaos Manor
                           From the living Room
                           By Jerry Pournelle
                           BYTE Magazine, The small systems Journal



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Well there it is, If you happen to see any of these files on this, or any other
RBBS, IBBS,  FIDO or any other board, PLEASE leave the SYSOP a message or a
and let him know about the file.  I will List 2 other Files that I am aware of
that will also do damage as has been reported in the past:
           1.  STAR.EXE presents a screen of stars then copies RBBS-PC.DEF
               and renames it. The caller then calls back later and d/l the
               innocently named file, and he then has the SYSOP'S and all the
               Users passwords.

           2.  SECRET.BAS  This file was left on an RBBS with a message saying
               that the caller got the file from a mainframe, and could not get
               the file to run on his PC, and asked someone to try it out.
               When it was executed, it formatted all disks on the system.

We must remember, that there are a Few idiots out there who get great pleasure
from destroying other peoples equipment.  Perverted I know, but we, the serious
computer users must take an active part in Fighting against this type of stuff,
to protect what we have.  Be sure to spread this bulletin to other Boards
across the country so that as many people as possible will be aware of what is
going on.   Thanks alot!

                                  ........................  Kerry
                                    The Flint Board
                                    Flint, Mich
                                    (313) 736-8031

 Flint Board