`8Loader¦î«p ù  AúÚ SAGROTAN 4.14 J¸*gDHzŒ?< NA\O <S€*Fü'pAøÈú øCúÿò À À±ÉmøAú À À`úHz ?< NA\OAø@Cúÿ¤><ÿ0ÙQÏÿüCúÿ–AúF‘ÉNÐAúH ¸rCú!ÉrNuNVÿôHçÿüa2J@gaLß?ÿN^ zNÐHxHy?.B§/8Æ?NNOïNu xÆp2<ÿÐXQÉÿü°|4fpa gpNupNu xÆ P`f4 ¨Cø@$f* ¨Eúÿô(f ¨1AY&6f ¨1AY&Òf ¨rAøÚfpNupaÿza”J@g8 xÆ0¼`8Aè:CúþÀrq ÙQÉÿü xÆBhþp2<þÐXQÉÿü0¼4‘Pp aÿÞ~  ¾!^!þ"ž"¨"²#R#ò$’%2%Ò&r''²(R(\(ü)œ*<*Ü+|,,¼-\-ü.œ/</Ü0| 2ü3œ4<4Ü5|66¼7\7ü8œ9<9Ü:|;;&<==ö>æ?Ö@Æ1Dš1Hn1LB1P1Sê%X@&\´ _4 a´%f g^h²jkZl®noVpª JUST WHAT IS A COMPUTER VIRUS? `````````````````````````````````` Right then,for the first of our newer user topics we`re going to cover viruses,what they are,how you get them,and most important,how to get rid of them.If you are a very new user,please don`t be put off by the technical side of this article it is all information you need to know and is very simple to understand. THE BAD NEWS Firstly,a virus is a small computer program.It isn`t any kind of infectious anything at all,it has no biological form,it`s just a computer program.It is written by a moron basically,and it`s purpose in life is to automatically copy itself to every disk that it able to causing varying degrees of damage as it does so. If you imagine that a floppy disk is a cardboard box and each seperate file in it is like a piece of A4 paper in that box,an index card is a very helpful thing.Rather than rake through a hundred sheets of paper to find what you`re after,you look up the index and it tells you what you want and where to find it.On every floppy disk there is a "BOOTSECTOR" which is a small area that special information is stored which acts very like an index card in that it tells the computer where things are on the disk.A computer virus stores itself in there too and so whenever your computer reads a disk,it reads the bootsector first,and so also reads the virus.The virus loads itself into your computer`s memory and waits there until the next disk is loaded.It then tranfers a copy of itself to the second and subsequent disks.All this is done without any outward trace so you won`t know how many disks are infected. THE GOOD NEWS The only way that you can get a virus in your disk collection is if you receive an "infected" disk from somewhere else.It can`t just appear from nowhere.There aren`t a huge amount of ST viruses generally around.Most of them are very easily destroyed,the couple of rare tougher ones just need a more specific program to get rid of them.There are several excellent virus killers available on the ST and I`ve included one of my own favourites on this disk for you to use.There are also plenty of bootsector programs around which lets you specify what is in the bootsectors of your disks and they show themselves with a message or picture on your screen every single time you use a disk so that you know there are no viruses on those disks.In the end though,you can get rid of them all. THE MOST COMMON I have used an ST for 5 years now and have only ever come across one virus.It is by far the most common,and it`s called the "GHOST VIRUS".It works in the way that I have mentioned in that you get a disk from somebody with the virus aboard already in the bootsector.You load in the disk to look at and the virus copies itself into your memory.If you then switch off your ST,the virus dies as it is stored in the RAM memory which wipes itself after the ST is switched off. Some viruses are resistant to a warm boot or reset though,and will survive in memory for 20 or 30 seconds if you hold in the reset button.If you take that disk out to look at another though,it will copy itself to the bootsector of the second disk infecting it too.This proceedure continues unknown to you until a set number of copies are made,and then the virus shows itself.In the case of the Ghost virus it will make your mouse pointer go the opposite way from which it is supposed to.Up with the mouse will put the pointer down etc.You now know you have the Ghost virus,but you don`t know how many disks will have the virus on it.You must now spend ages checking each disk and immunising them with a special program. HOW TO STOP THEM Very simple really.Check every new disk that you get with a good virus checker. Keep the tabs on each disk you have open,and close them only when you write to that disk.A virus like any other program cannot write itself to a write protected disk.Use a bootsector protection program so that a message comes on the screen every time you boot up.That way if a disk boots up with a blank screen you will become suspicious in plenty of time to do something about it.If you do get a disk which gives a positive reading with your virus checker,contact the person you got it from immediately and tell them.They almost certainly will not know that they are infected and will appreciate the information. COMMERCIAL DISKS Many commercial disks like games or utilities,will have a specific bootsector which they need to operate properly.If a virus writes itself to that disk it will render it useless.For that reason always make a copy of all your commercial disks and use only the copies.Put away the originals and if your copy ever corrupts for whatever reason,you just make another.Keep the tabs closed at all times on all commercial disks. Some Public Domain programs also have this special bootsector, but in my experience have the name of the program displayed in some way on boot up.If you load in a PD disk and it mentions the name of the disk on boot-up,copy that disk and use only the copy. ANTI VIRUS VIRUSES I thought to mention this because the biggest hassles I get from viruses are caused by these.A long time ago I used a bootsector protection program called "ALTAIR ANTI VIRUS".It is totally harmless but it works exactly like a real virus.It copies itself to as many disks as it can and writes over any bootsectors it finds.This leads to the corruption of important disks.It`s also a bugger to get rid of.Many bootsector protection programs are unable to write over it and so each disk must be immunused by a good program such as Sagrotan or UVK.As I say,this anti virus causes no intentional damage but can damage disks accidentally.My own opinion is that it`s best to steer clear of using anti-virus protection on your disks.Much better to go for a straight forward protection program,of which I have included a couple of dozen on this disk. LINK VIRUSES I better mention these as you may hear the name sometime.A link virus does not write to a bootsector like a "normal" virus,but latches onto a program file.That way when you run the program it copies itself to another program file and spreads in that way.Your chances of coming across these viruses are tiny,I think only 4 or 5 have ever been found on the ST anyway,and although the info is useful I very much doubt you`ll ever need it. SUMMARY Bootsector viruses,while not common,are widely spread and you`ll probably get disks that do have them on.Habitual checking of disks is a very good habit and highly recommended,along with use of bootsector protection programs.Instead of expecting that all new disks are virus free,expect them to carry a virus and check them ALL.Keep tabs open whenever possible and backup any commercial disks or any disks that need their own bootsector.Correct management of your disks will ensure that viruses never bother you and your ST time will be more enjoyably spent. Bob ~x00_Îü~x±¶ÿì00àïÞð<À?èßôçœàøŸöïŽðü¿úÇö?ø?üÿúÏö?ø?üßúçÆø?øÏæ÷Þà¿ùÏ÷tð?øîÑ—.xÞ¹½Ö{9œx¯õ×û(pþýþxxçÿÁ‡ÀÀ€€€€ÀÀÀ€€ƒãÇÿÿÿ>x>x0;È7øð