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The Fake Virus That "Spreads"

Fake computer virus, and this one actually spreads... somewhat.
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Finally, what the anti-virus industry has been hoping for since perhaps the dawn of computer viruses themselves... a sample for testing... No, not EICAR, but one which actually spreads...

Okay, a melodramatic introduction, but was that really needed? I say aye.

Anyways, this is a fake virus, and it spreads... or not. The theory behind my idea is to send users a plain message, then ask them to forward it. Of course, there must be a way to differentiate it from a chain letter.

Here is what I propose:

A survey, with multiple questions asking what-if. This will determine if and how well the "virus" would spread. There would be a scoring system for different categories:

* user awareness, whether the user is cautious about email attachments and such

* security of OS, a rating of how prone the user's OS is to virus attack

* security measures, whether the user uses anti-virus, firewall, encryption, etc.

Then they send it all to a central processing center and forward the email denpending on how many other users would have been "infected."

Of course, there's going to be the spam aspect... but hey.

zephyrus, Dec 12 2003

ED http://www.halfbake.../idea/www.funnyjunk
funy site [squirrel77, Oct 06 2004]


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       I don't see how this is a virus or how it spreads. It sounds like a questionnaire you fill out and send in. Where does the spreading come in? Explain the virus aspect some more, please.
bungston, Dec 13 2003
  

       Don't send it to my mother. She'll forward the completed survey to everyone in her address book. They'll do the same, and soon the whole world will know that Mom does anything an e-mail asks. Then I'll have to tell her to cut that out, and she'll say, "But the anti-virus never popped up, so I thought it was OK."
This non-virus is a major pain.
Amos Kito, Dec 13 2003
  

       Ideas like this, and other current non-virii (sulfnbk.exe, jdbgmgr.exe), are clogging up the internet with useless garbage. (-) for killing my bandwidth.
Cedar Park, Dec 13 2003
  

       "<security> (By analogy with biological viruses, via SF) A program or piece of code written by a cracker that "infects" one or more other programs by embedding a copy of itself in them, so that they become Trojan horses. When these programs are executed, the embedded virus is executed too, thus propagating the "infection". This normally happens invisibly to the user.   

       A virus has an "engine" - code that enables it to propagate and optionally a "payload" - what it does apart from propagating. It needs a "host" - the particular hardware and software environment on which it can run and a "trigger" - the event that starts it running." Your idea is not by definition a virus. It's just stupid.
whatastrangeperson, Dec 14 2003
  


 

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