Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 4, 1992 TAG: 9203040185
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
No, the acclaimed work of the 16th-century Italian artist is not experiencing a revival. Rather, a computer virus named for the noted painter and sculptor threatens to wipe out data stored on some computer hard disks Friday - the 517th anniversary of Michelangelo's birth.
Caution is being urged in preparing for the trigger date of the potentially lethal computer virus.
"Although we have seen many computer viruses in the past, this is the first widespread virus to be pretty malignant," said Philip Chapnick, director of the Computer Security Institute in San Francisco.
The Michelangelo program, which is passed by sharing infected computer software, may hit anywhere from 500,000 computers to 5 million computers Friday, according to estimates by industry experts.
But computer owners can use a variety of techniques to sidestep the Michelangelo virus, industry professionals say.
One strategy is to reset the computer's internal clock to skip March 6. Another approach is to buy a computer package that can scan for potential viruses. Such computer programs typically cost less than $100.
Above all else, computer users should make backup versions of the programs they have stored on their hard disks, said Jim Hoisington, a director of the North Texas PC Users Group.
The Michelangelo virus can cause significant damage because of the way it works, Hoisington said. In addition to erasing programs, Michelangelo will destroy information that tells a computer programmer where information was stored.
"If you're not really smart, you won't be able to re-create location codes," Hoisington said. "A lot of people I know are scanning all of their programs this week just to be safe."
Most viruses - which carry names like the Friday the 13th virus, the Pakistani virus, the Brain virus and the Ping-Pong virus - are programs written by computer hackers trying to outfox their peers. Most of the programs are considered more annoying than destructive.
by CNB