THE NEVER ENDING STORY? THE ENGLISH MAGAZINES GIVE YOU A COVER DISK, BUT VIRUSES TOO! The competition between the British Amiga magazines is very severe. Some magazines get exclusive rights for previews and ordinary reports of the new games, so that they can compete unfairly against the other Amiga magazines, which get their software (games) much later. In addition it is well-known, that the big software houses, use this compe- tition to 'persuade' some of magazines to get better test reports than they should get, and so on. As the only country in the world, almost all english computer magazines offer you a cover disk containing new pre-releases, good P.D. utility programs or like, when you buy their magazines. But be carefull, this serve can be the ruin of your computer! By the consequence of the very hard compete between the different magazines these disk is produced as low cost disks with the good and bad this is meaning. The fact is that near 10 % of all the english cover disks now are containing viruses too. Why can it happen? May be we are getting closer to the truth today, as you can see from the following report. I don't know, if this is the whole truth, but this is the story, as it was told to me by some thrustworthy people, who have been closely involved in this painful case: A PHONE CALL FROM ENGLAND On Monday the 4th November 1991, at 1815 o'clock. SHI, (Safe Hex Inter- national) got a phone call form the managing Editor of AUI, (Amiga User International), mr Antony Jacobsen: "Please tell me about the Saddam Hussein virus, our cover disk is properly infected by this virus, we have just got the first two reports from our readers." SHI: "Unfortunately then, you have got one of the nastiest viruses around, that was ever made for the Amiga. It infects the L/dir and replace the original Disk-validator with a file of the same name and length, but what's worse you can't delete the virus again in ordinary way." AUI: "But which killers is able to find and kill this virus, and where can I get them?" SHI: "Our organization have just started up a regional centre in England, if you contact this centre, our person there will give you all the help you need. THE END OF THIS STORY This was the start of this painful story. A few hours later the editorial coordinator Pat Kelly from AUI, started the long trip by train from London to mr Michael Sewell, the Manager of our SHI virus centre in Manchester to confirm 100%, whether the cover disk was infected or not. The result was, I am sorry to say, positive. The next morning 5th November 1991, an urgent phone call was made to the distributors, to tell them to stop sending out the magazine but, unluckily 10.000 copies couldn't be stopped. They had already been sendt to the readers of the AUI magazine. However by acting quickly,the main part, about 40.000 copies, could be stopped. (If you get an infection by The Saddam Hussein virus use e.g. the excellent killers: BootX 4.40, VT 2.37, or of cause..the killer, that always are able to cope with "Saddam" named "Schwarzkopf"). MR ANTONY JACOBSEN, MANAGING EDITOR OF THE AMIGA USER INTERNATIONAL ,IS VERY, VERY.....SORRY AND IS SAYING ABOUT THEIR VIRUS PROBLEMS: The magazine immediately took steps to consult Erik Lovendahl Sørensen and Michael Sewell, leading virus experts in Denmark and the U.K. The experts at once advised the magazine of the ways of counteracting this virus if it appeared on any other disks. By the first hand this new "Saddam" strain don't seemed to infect other disks from this AUI cover disk (no 7) December issue. AUI's disk duplicators, a company of the highest professional standards, had carried out all the usual checks, but there appeared to be a possible new Saddam strain circulating which had avoided detection. This strain infects the L/dir and replaces the original disk validator with a file of the same name and lenght. AUI is at present conducting an enquiry to discover how the problem originated. Safe Hex International has been brought into action and is, through its recently established Virus Research Centre in the U.K. acting as an advice and help coordination point for any other examples of this or any other virus that might appear. AUI is initiating a public campaign to encourage anyone who has suspecions of viruses to contact the Virus Research Centres in their own countries and in the next issue of the magazine is publishing the latest information and addresses. We are very grateful for the help that SHI have given us. They are experts and today with the growing problem of viruses, it is in everybody's interest - expect the virus creators themselves - for any virus that appears to be reported them." Safe Hex International (SHI) and the other Virus Research Centres are able to provide the necessary checkers and killers for all presently known Amiga viruses. SHI are so concerned with the situation that they are offering a reward of $ 1000 to be paid name and address of any virus creator. THE STORY BEHIND? How could this happen, you might say, desprite the most careful precautions taken by the Amiga User International? Unconfirmed ,I was told from a very reliable source, that the man, who had made the cover disk for AUI, had stopped working for AUI, just before the release of the infected disk, to work for the competitor magazine CU Amiga. If this is true I hope, that the British police will take action over this sort of terrorism. THE NEVER ENDING STORY? A few months ago, CU Amiga suffered a very similar a disaster, when the cover disk on the August edition, not only contained a virus killer, BUT... unfortunately also the virus "Revenge Bootloader", unknown to this killer. According to the english police, Scotland Yard's Computer Crime Unit, there are now around 60 viruses on the AtariST, some 260 on the Amiga and as many as 1100 that can attack MSDOS computers. This growing problem is highligh- ted by the diffuculty facing not just ordinary, private users but also those who run or disstribute disks for commercial or professional purposes. Commercial organisations normally carry out exhaustive checks for viruses but with varieties multiplying. It is often difficult for them to trace and and deal with the latest dangers. This is illustrated by the experience of four non-MSDOS U.K. magazines that in recent times are believed to have suffered virus problems on the disk they place on their covers. The virus problems is growing like a nuclear disaster! In the month of january the PC computer magazine "PC Fun" had spread 18.000 disk with a virus called "New Zealand 2-Stoned". It's a complete disaster, said magazine editor Adrian Pumphrey. If the virus gets taken into an office it could blow the system! Computer owners don't understand how things like this can happen today. We have a lot of excellent virus killers, which find ALL viruses including new viruses. But why can such things happen to experienced people? - People whose job is to know everything about the Amiga, which the readers don't know about. MAIN CENTRAL VIRUS CENTRE: ------------------------- Erik Loevendahl Soerensen Snaphanevej 10 DK-4720 Praestoe Denmark Virus helpline: Phone +45 55 992512 between 2000-2200 Virus helpline: Fax +45 55 993498 between 0000-2400