FreeLists / arachne / [arachne] Re: Fw: Re: Arachne

["Samuel W. Heywood" <sheywood@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Arachne at FreeLists---The Arachne Fan Club!


On Tue, 2008-05-06 at 10:25 +0930, Greg Mayman wrote:
> Arachne at FreeLists---The Arachne Fan Club!
> 
> On Sun, 04 May 2008 09:19:00 -0400, Samuel W. Heywood wrote:
> 
> >> What's the difference?  Doesn't seem like such a big deal to me
> 
> > There really is a big difference and it is a big deal to me.
> 
> > When one is running Arachne in a Window$ dos box he has to leave
> > the Windows open and let all the bugs come flying in.
> 
> I was experimenting with Win98 and one of my DOS programs which is
> currently having trouble on that computer, and found one mode which
> closed Windows when the DOS prog was run.
> 
> Also, from what I have read, it is Internut Exploder that lets in the
> bugs, not the Win OS.... sorry to have upset your lovely simile <GGGG>

You can run DOS in real mode on a WIN98 machine but you can't run DOS in
real mode on a W2K or Window$ XP machine unless you have installed the
operating system on a FAT32 file system.  The default installation
programa will automagically partition your hard drive to install these
OS's  on a nfts file system.

The expression "keep the windows closed to prevent the bugs from flying
in" is not a simile.  It is a simple straight-forward statement of fact
about what you need to do to protect your computer. 

It is the OS itself that lets the bugs come flying in.  Even if I were 
to intentionally attempt to open a Window$ virus while running DOS in 
real mode my machine would not get infected.  I would only get an error 
message saying "this program will not run in DOS mode."  If I were to 
attempt to open the virus while running DOS in a "DOS-box" under 
Window$, the program would run and it would infect my computer.

Sam Heywood

                  Arachne at FreeLists                  
-- Arachne, The Premier GPL Web Browser/Suite for DOS --