12) The write protect tab always stops a disk write (Favourite myths - Computer virus)
Description
This article is from the Computer viruses FAQ, by David Harley D.Harley@icrf.icnet.uk, George Wenzel gwenzel@telusplanet.net and Bruce Burrell bpb@umich.edu with numerous contributions by others.
12) The write protect tab always stops a disk write (Favourite myths - Computer virus)
Briefly, write protection is built into the hardware on the Mac and
on the PC (and most other systems, of course, but we can't cover
everything), and can't be circumvented in software.
However, it is possible for the hardware to fail: it's not common,
but it happens. Thus when I do a cleanup, I try to create a file on a
sacrificial floppy before risking my R/O boot disk. Sometimes, I
even remember....
Other caveats: a disk which you receive write-protected could have
been de-protected, infected, and re-protected. Even a 3.5" disk with
the write-enable tab removed can be written to by covering the hole
with (e.g.) masking tape. And, of course, shrink-wrapped software
could have been infected before the duplication process.
Continue to:
My Books
