By Rebecca A. Doyle
Those who took home a Macintosh computer system last Tuesday may have gotten more than they bargained for. About 400 floppy disks packaged with Macintosh computers and sold through the Information Technology Division’s (ITD’s) Computer KickOff ’93 program contained the computer virus nVIR, according to Philip Harding, manager of ITD’s computer sales program.
The virus was discovered in the InfoX application, a communications program included with other software and “bundled” with the Macintosh hardware.
“We are still investigating how it happened,” Harding says. “There are many ways it could have been transmitted to the disks. We try to take all precautions to prevent something like this, and it is rare now, but unfortunately, it does still happen.”
As soon as the virus was discovered—about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Harding says—ITD removed the yellow floppy disks containing the nVIR computer virus and other software, started to disinfect them and began a telephone campaign to warn those who had the infected disks. Only Macintosh computers claimed between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. that day have the infected disk, Harding stresses. Macintosh systems distributed on Wednesday and systems manufactured by other companies are not affected.
The nVIR virus does not intentionally damage or destroy either files or applications, Harding notes, but can be annoying. It causes problems by occupying disk space and memory.
Harding advises those who think they may have an infected diskette to take one of the following precautions:
—Run the Disinfectant antiviral program (contained on the same yellow floppy disk as the InfoX software.) Double-click on the Disinfectant icon, then select the Disinfect button. Disinfectant recognizes the nVIR virus and destroys it. This operation should also be performed on the hard disk to be sure it was not infected. Instructions for these procedures are written on the diskette, but anyone with questions can call the computing consultants at 764-HELP.
—Take the yellow floppy disk to the North University Building Site (NUBS) and tell the consultants there that you received the disk during the Computer KickOff sale. The consultants will run the antiviral software for you.
—Take the infected floppy disk to staff at the Computer Showcase on the ground floor of the Michigan Union who also can run the antiviral software on your disk.
When ITD staff realized that they were distributing damaged disks, they immediately pulled them from the remaining packages, Harding notes. A few computer packages were distributed without any yellow floppy disk. Those who did not receive one may obtain one at the Computer Showcase.
In addition to contacting by telephone all those who picked up the computer systems Tuesday, follow-up notification will be sent through the mail, says Harding, to ensure that all who may have had the infected disk are aware of the potential problem and know how to avoid it.
