Computer "Form Virus"
By Rick Cooley
"Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead!" Hi folks, I apologize for starting a thread not directly related to mechanical music but it is directly related to folks who enjoy the Internet, as Digest members do.
My computer (one of the fastest ones on the market) got infected with a true virus during my thousands of downloads from the Internet. It apparently was associated with MIDI music players which I previously downloaded, tried and then discarded (except for the viruses which remained behind.) A "Form Virus" in the boot-up section defied almost every attempt to eliminate it. My computer was running at about 20% of normal speed, with frequent freeze-ups in just about every program. And it seems to get worse, day by day.
When I asked for help from Digest members, I was impressed with the response. Robbie and Jody quickly responded, along with other members who had solved the same problem. But the answer was nearby: my youngest son is a college graduate Computer Science major (who flies corporate jets for a living). To keep the virus in the boot section from activating and putting up protection, he used a clean copy of DOS to boot up, bypassing the sleeping virus. Then he installed the latest IBM virus killer that "read the virus its rights" and then executed it. Immediately after rebooting my computer I was flashing through the various programs with 100% of the original speed. It is incredible what a little old bug can do to your computer.
I now run a virus checker on every boot up and have a shield that will hopefully keep me straight in the future. Thanks for all the help from the Digest members.
(By the way, "Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead" is from the Wizard of Oz. Remember the celebration when the house fell on the Wicked Witch from the West? Well, a "house" fell on my virus as well. ...)
Regards, Rick and Betty Cooley
[ Jody comments, "The 'Form Virus' is especially obnoxious; you used
[ exactly the right attack." -- Robbie
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(Message sent Wed 12 Mar 1997, 05:29:27 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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