💾 Archived View for gemini.spam.works › mirrors › textfiles › magazines › CRYPT › crptlettr9.vir captured on 2022-06-12 at 10:44:04.

View Raw

More Information

-=-=-=-=-=-=-







      
      
      ??? ????????   ??? ??????    ??       ??   ??? ?????    ??????? ?????
     ???? ????????? ???? ???????  ????     ???? ???? ??????  ???????? ??????
     ???? ????????  ???? ????????  ????   ????  ???? ???????  ??????? ?????
     ????           ???? ????????   ???? ????   ???? ???????     ????
     ????           ???? ???????     ?? ????    ???? ??????      ????
     ????           ???? ????????      ????     ???? ?????       ????
     ???? ????????  ????      ????     ????     ????             ????
     ???? ????????? ????       ????    ????     ????             ????
      ??? ????????   ???        ??      ??       ???              ??
      
                              NEWSLETTER NUMBER 9
      **********************************************************************
      Another festive, info-glutted, tongue-in-cheek training manual
      provided solely for the entertainment of the virus programmer,
      casual bystander or PC hobbyist interested in the particulars
      of cybernetic data replication and/or destruction.
                     EDITED BY URNST KOUCH, November 1992
      **********************************************************************

      TOP QUOTE: "Concrete shoes! Neckties! Cyanide! Done dirt cheap!!"
                           --AC/DC from "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" on 
                           "Live 1992" late October, 1992

      IN THIS ISSUE:  News-news-news . . . Solomon's Anti-virus Toolkit
      scrutinized for user happiness quotient . . . ACME virus and URNST's
      continuing fetish with companion infections . . . RAUBKOPY virus:
      a German anti-piracy product . . . intro to the first annual Crypt
      letter virus\antivirus\virus software awards . . . In the READING
      ROOM . . . stupid humor & lots more . . .

                                    -*-

      TOP O' THE NEWS: WEENIES STRIKE AGAIN - the PROTO-T hoax. Once
      again, the chief dupes were FidoNet and WWIVnet users. The story 
      goes like this: anonymous electronic stooge posts e-mail message 
      from noble 'underground elite' sysops in the S.F. Bay Area who
      see their systems decimated by a magical, virulent program 
      which 'hides' in COM port 1, etc., etc. Noble sysops band together
      to spread word to "straight" world, with the exception of the 
      Software Publishers Association. Eegah!
      
      Contagion spreads like wild fire. Call US NEWS & WORLD REPORT! We 
      reprint the original PROTO-T warning (spelling errors and all) for 
      your enjoyment and add that one of the viruses included in this 
      issue has been named PROTO-T, in honor of the quacks who started the 
      rumor.

      Transcript:
     *********************************************************************
     This is an exact copy of a "Broadcast" letter sent to all members and
     affiliates of THIEVCO INC; a group located somewhere in the San 
     Francisco Bay Area. While I do not support the general theology of 
     Thievco Inc, I must applaud thier actions. Thier warnings about a new 

                                     Page 1




     virus called PROTO-T, will potentially save us computer users possibly 
     thousands of dollars - and hundreds of man hours.
     
     Here is a copy of the broadcast letter, as received from a friend
     at Thievco ...

          <<*>>     <<*>>     <<*>>     <<*>>     <<*>>     <<*>>     

     Retrieved BLUWAV 6921 / THIEV 00621*420 - Node 1:8 Sent T-Tymnet

     Date    : 9/24/92 11:14pm
     To      : All Thievco Members, and affil.
     Re      : PROTO - T
     Class   : Confidential (go public 9-26)


     Dear Members,

     At 7:34PM (pst) our attempt to isolate and contain the PROTO - T
    virus failed. As we have discovered, PROTO - T has a *VERY* unique
    feature, to hide in the RAM of VGA cards, hard disks, and possibly,
    in modem buffers. Unfortunaly, we found out the hard way - after it 
    struck.
     
    At this time, there is no known defence against this virus, save 
    formatting your hard/floppy disks - there isn't even a method of 
    detecting it yet...untill its too late. [ PROTO - T specs listed 
    later ].
     
    Unearthly Vision ( Portland, Oregon ), and Chron ( Alameda, Calif )
    were working on isolating the virus when it struck. Over 900 megabytes
    of information was lost, of that about 214 megabytes is probably 
    recoverable.

    Action :

    Please assist us in implementing this plan, to warn the general public.
    Our first priority is our fellow THIEVCO members. Please distribute this
    letter to all contacts inside the U.S., upon recipt of this letter.
    Please inform the public on 9-26-92. Start warning the elite boards 
    first, followed by the P.D. boards. Dont bother telling known SPA 
    locals, they aren't worth our time.

     Blue Boar - Distribute the warning in Southern California, start
     with L.A. first.
     
     Chron     - Distribute to San Francisco, Sacramento, and south east
     coast.

     Garfield  - Distribute to Fido-Net, Vet-Net, Compuserve, and America
                 Online.

     Unearthly Vision - Distribute to Oregon, and Washington.

     Executioner   - Distribute to San Jose, Monterey.


                                     Page 2





    =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

    What is known:

   Proto - T was just a rumor, untill it was confirmed a few weeks ago.
   Chron, being the most incredible skip-tracer, traced its origins to a
   college campus in California. There, it was placed into two files.
   The first, is a file called "TEMPLE" - which to our knowledge, has no
   legitimate use; it seems to be a dummy file. The other file, was
   placed in an unathorized version of PKZip by PKWare ( versions 3.0, 
   and 3.1 - these are not legitimate versions of PKZip! Quite possibly, 
   these versions of PKZip were created, for the reason of distributing 
   PROTO - T ).

   Proto - T is very elusive. There is no program known to detect it.
   From what we understand, it will only infect your system if certian
   conditions are met. From what we know, it will infect your system only if
   you run TEMPLE, or PKZip 3.x after 6:00pm. Even doing that wont nessaraly
   cause infection - it took 6 days for Chron and Unearthly Vision to 
   become infected. Obviously some other criteria must be met.
    
   Upon infection, the virus is written (as un-attached file chains), On 
   two parts of a hard disk - each capable of running independently without 
   the other half.
    
   After infection, the virus seems to be written into the memory or memory
   routines of a VGA or EGA monitor; or is written into the memory of the 
   hard drive, or quite possibly, into a modem - or COM port. Thus excaping 
   most or any known detection methods.

    PROTO - T :

    Proto - T when activated, corrupts data on a disk, stops VGA or EGA
    from being used ( Thus either defaulting to CGA, or locking up ), and
    prohibits memory from being used over 512K.

    Known to be put into two files : TEMPLE.EXE ( 14,771 Bytes ) and PKZip 
    3.x  (Varries always over 100,000 bytes when zipped). If you see these 
    files - do not get or use them.

    Give this letter to all Thievco members and thier contacts, followed by
    other boards.

    With luck, we can stop the damage before it *REALLY* starts.

                                          THIEVCO INC, San Francisco Bay
                                          Area.


    Special Thanks for Chron, Unearthly Vision, and Blue Boar for all thier
    help with this "Early warning" and tech help.


                             Bill [A NOBLE CYBER-CITIZEN. -URNST]
     *******************************************************************

                                     Page 3




     Crypt newsletter recommendations: Send a copy of the transcript and
     PROTO-T to Pam Kane of Panda Systems. According to a recent COMPUSERVE 
     magazine story on viruses, Kane is working on a hi-tech novel with
     a virus villain. PROTO-T could be ripe for even more embellishment
     in a good novella. And there's no worry about royalties, either!

     Boy, I love reading this stuff! It's cut from the same bolt of cloth
     that supplies the endless numbers of computer chowderheads ready 
     willing and able to argue that a trojan or virus can blow up your 
     monitor. And here's more:

     *******************************************************************
     Proto-T is NOT a hoax... and from what I've heard through the grape 
     vien [VIEN? Is that in Austria?] is just about as nasty as they get.

     The problem with detecting it is that no one's really sure where it 
     goes...com ports, video memory, you name it, and it might have 
     accessed it...

     From all the information I've seen off internet proto-t ussually 
     strikes after 6:00pm, but is not totally dependant upon the time alone.  
     I believe it was a lab in Austin Texas that was doing the most 
     heaviest work on it, although I can't be 100(null)ure that it was Austin.. 
     but at any rate Proto-T is legit, and from all I've been reading 
     probably one of the most intense virii written to date.. no one seems 
     to be able to lock it down as from all obersvation it writes to two 
     seperate sections of the hard disk and neither rely on one or the other 
     to activate.. and it *might* have reproductive
     powers to boot (ie you destroy one of the writes, the other kicks 
     in and rebuilds it..).

     I don't like the looks of this one, not at all..

     Devin Davidson  [ANOTHER NOBLE CYBER-CITIZEN. -URNST]
     
     **********************************************************************
     PATRICIA HOFFMAN, VSUM AUTHOR, QUITS AT 4:00pm
     **********************************************************************

      I snagged the next entry describing the MtE Spawn (real name: INSUFF3)
      off the FidoNet. Someone had posted it from Patricia Hoffman's
      VSUM in response to a question on Mutation Engine viruses. The
      Crypt reader will recognize MtE Spawn as one of the INSUFF viruses
      from a previous newsletter.

      MTE Spawn: Received in September, 1992, MTE Spawn is a non-
            resident spawning or companion virus which uses the Dark
            Avenger Mutating Engine for its encryption.  When an infected
            program is executed, this virus will infect one .EXE file
            in the current directory, creating a 6,666 to 6,746 byte
            .COM file with the same base file name.  This companion file
            will have the read-only, system, and hidden attributes set,
            and its date and time will be the system date and time when
            infection occurred.  The original .EXE file will not be
            altered.  Execution of an MTE Spawn virus infected program
            will result in a system hang after five .EXE files in the

                                     Page 4




            current directory have become infected.  Additionally,
            the companion files will not be executed under some versions
            of DOS due to a minor bug in this virus.  To disinfect an
            infection of MTE Spawn, simply delete the hidden companion
            files.
          Origin:  Unknown  September, 1992. [Crypt newsletter 6, actually.]


      Note the size reported by Hoffman: 6,666 bytes. Pretty big for a
      non-resident companion virus! Must be written in PASCAL, or 
      somethin'. Nope. Actually, the reader may remember this 
      particular virus carries a 4,000 byte payload: the NOIZ 
      trojan. The NOIZ program is dropped onto .EXE's in the current
      directory anytime MtE Spawn is executed after 4:00 in the
      afternoon. NOIZ is a joke program which installs itself in memory
      and, obviously, makes noise. And it irreversibly soils any program 
      it lands on. This makes NOIZ difficult to ignore. So, Patricia 
      Hoffman either worked on MtE Spawn in the morning or went home 
      by 4:00 pm the day she examined it. Oh wow.

      ******************************************************************
      CENTRAL POINT SOFTWARE VOWS "ALL PC's VIRUS FREE BY '93!" IN
      MARKETING NEW CP ANTIVIRUS FREEWARE SCANNER. OH WOW.
      ******************************************************************

      Central Point Software follows SYMANTEC into the retail program
      offered as bait freeware by making the scanner engine in its
      latest edition available as a no-strings downloadable file on
      COMPUSERVE and AMERICA-ON-LINE.

      The scanner, packaged as the archive CPAVSO.ZIP, SO standing for
      "scanner only," is cosmetically very similar to SYMANTEC's 
      freeware NAVSCAN issued a month ago.

      The SO version of CPAV's scanner engine claims to detect all 
      Mutation Engine viruses and Virus Creation Laboratory variants.
      At the Crypt editorial offices it failed to detect the MtE-
      equipped INSUFF viruses, noted in the latest edition of Patricia
      Hoffman's VSUM as MtE Spawn.  It also hiccuped when running against
      any but the most basic Virus Creation Laboratory code samples.

      CPAVSO continues the weird Central Point Software method of 
      counting a virus which infects both .COMfiles and .EXEfiles
      as two strains, thereby inflating its detection claims.

      However, as a brute force scanner, the SO edition is worth precisely 
      what you pay for it. 
      
      *****************************************************************
      URNST TAKES THE PRODIGY CHALLENGE AND ORDER's DR. SOLOMON's
      ANTIVIRUS TOOLKIT THROUGH ONTRACK SYSTEMS:  A QUALITY REPORT
      *****************************************************************

      The Sears Roebuck administered "personal information service"
      for yuppies, Prodigy, recently hyped an antivirus software offer
      which, on the surface, appeared quite attractive. It offered

                                     Page 5




      a special data integrity package armed with the Solomon Toolkit's 
      FindVirus utility, an "unerase" program designed to allow
      buyers to easily recover recently scotched files and a rudimentary
      set of hard disk maintenance utilities. Not a bad deal for
      $34 cash money until you consider that anyone running DOS 5.0,
      NORTON UTILITIES or any equivalent already has the hard file
      maintenance programs, reducing the Prodigy package to a $34
      brute-force scanner. Nah, pass.

      However, Prodigy did offer the complete Solomon Toolkit for 
      $39. The catch was it came sans manual. Of course, you could  
      also buy the manual, thereby bringing the total price up to
      $99, just about what you would pay for the Toolkit anywhere.

      Hah! But Prodigy hadn't counted on a Crypt newsletter editor
      as a buyer. We don't need no stinking manuals!

      And so we evaluated the Toolkit just for you, the Crypt reader!

      The Toolkit is easy to install. You can either use the dumb
      install program or copy the files manually into a TOOLKIT
      directory on the hard file of choice.  All Toolkit programs are
      command line driven, but most will want to use the Toolkit
      menu. The menu is perfunctory but clear.

      The Toolkit sans manual offers little advice, although there
      is plenty of embedded help to aid in understanding possible
      functions.

      The heart of the Toolkit is its two integrity checkers: Quick
      Check Virus and CheckVirus. CheckVirus provides more complete
      integrity data on executables and, therefore, according to
      Solomon, is more sensitive than Quick Check Virus.  It is
      supposedly armored against advanced stealth viruses although
      we didn't bother to test this.  CheckVirus WAS slapped around
      by the Crypt companion viruses VOTE and ACME (included in this
      issue.) Like most current products, it failed to note the 
      significance of added files duplicates. Nay, it completely
      missed them. This was startling, since the Toolkit virus list
      claims it recognizes companion infections as special cases.
      Presumably, we take this to mean only SCANNED companion infections 
      can be detected by the Toolkit's FindVirus program.

      The Toolkit also sports a memory integrity utility called CheckMem.
      It failed to notice VOTE - a resident comapnion virus - in memory
      although it complained incessantly about only 639k of apparent RAM
      on the test machine even when no viruses were being tested.
      
      However, this is unlikely to matter to the average user. The
      CheckMem utility does not present its information in any way that
      the average Prodigy subscriber would understand. Don't believe
      me? Start checking the Prodigy Computer Club help forums and you'll
      see what I mean.

      The Toolkit's Quick Check Virus and CheckVirus programs easily
      detected changes made to files by the PROTO-T virus (in this

                                     Page 6




      newsletter). Since PROTO-T has no stealth properties and changes
      in infected file size are fairly obvious, this was an easy hit for
      the Toolkit.

      However, the alarm message "*.COM has changed!!!" is not particularly
      useful. When contrasted with Leprechaun Software's Virus-Buster
      advisories/warnings and the redoubtable Integrity Master, by
      Stiller Research, both of which attempt to explain the possible
      reasons for change and a range of appropriate actions, the Toolkit's 
      response is laughable. In addition, the Toolkit makes the user 
      manually edit the files that contain its integrity data as programs 
      are removed or renamed.  This is a fairly rudimentary task, but still 
      beyond the scope of the average Prodigy subscriber. 
      
      Included with the Toolkit are some special programs. BROWSE
      lets the user look at a suspicious file for "gotcha" messages.
      This is a nice touch and one all anti-virus programs should
      include.  NOHARD and NOFLOPPY write protect respective disks.
      This is, IMHO, a useless and intrusive feature in everyday 
      computing, but handy if you're going in harm's way.

      The Toolkit also offers a standard array of repair functions
      for recognized viral infections. It rightly backs off on making
      any grand claims about the efficacy of these measures and sure 
      enough, the program took a hands-off approach to some minor variants
      of recognized infections by merely renaming the file. When
      repairing file virus infections, the Toolkit will rescan
      a program after removal - a good feature which uncovers
      multiple infections.

      The Toolkit also has an interesting embedded virus database.
      In it, viruses are described with regards to incidence, type of 
      infection, damage, encryption, and stealth properties. I had to 
      laugh at the frequent incidence description: "Not in the wild, but 
      could be." This is the best example of a waffle I've seen in 
      a long time, and it's been an election year.

      On a positive note, the Toolkit's FindVirus ably detected all
      the Mutation Engine variants I was able to generate.

      In conclusion, without the manual Solomon's Toolkit would seem like
      impenetrable murk to most users.  Indeed, it's not entirely
      fair to judge the Toolkit - which despite some glaring faults
      is serviceable software - without this component. But I ask you, 
      will the average Prodigy user read, use and understand a 
      $40 manual? Hahaha. Bet against.
      
      *******************************************************************

      RAUBKOPY: AN ANTI-PIRACY VIRUS FROM GERMANY. FOR YOUR PLEASURE

      *******************************************************************

      You're going to like RAUBKOPY. Supplied as a DEBUG script in
      this issue, RAUBKOPY - which translates literally as "theft
      copy" or pirate, I presume - is a direct-action infector of

                                     Page 7




      .COM and .EXE files. Infected .COMfiles have the virus
      body added to their beginning; with .EXE's the virus is
      appended to the end. RAUBKOPY restricts itself to a single
      directory on call and attempts to infect as many as 5
      executables in a single go.  RAUBKOPY is encrypted and resists
      simple methods of breaking 8 and 16-bit encryption schemes.

      The interesting feature of RAUBKOPY is its anti-piracy message,
      displayed often and in German. Run RAUBKOPY a few times -
      you'll be sure to see it.

      It is:
                   -----------------------
                       A C H T U N G !
                   _______________________

          "The Benutzung einer Raubkopi ist strassbar.
          Nur wer Original-Disketten, Handbucher,
          oder PD-Lizenzen besitzt dank 
          Kopien verwenden.

          Programmeirung ist muhevolle Detailarbeit.
          Wer Raubkopien verwendet, betrugt 
          Programmierer und der Lohn ihrer Arbeit."

      The machine waits a moment and then prompts the user again,

         "Bist Du sauber" (Are you honest?) (J/N) 

      Hit J for "Ja!" and the infected program will function.

      An on-the-fly (so don't sue if it's imprecise) translation is:

      "Attention!
      The use of "Raubkopi" is restricted.
      Only those with the original diskettes, manuals
      or PD licenses may distribute copies.

      "Programming is strenuous, exacting work.
      Those who distribute pirated files, betray
      programmers and the integrity of their work."

      RAUBKOPY will also try to meddle with the fixed disk very late in
      the afternoon or after the 12th of any month. VSUM reports this
      as a buggy routine which fails; on my machine RAUBKOPY hung
      the processor after making the disk spin.  Although
      RAUBKOPY appears to be harmless, it would be wise to be a little
      cautious when tinkering with it.

      *****************************************************************
      ACME VIRUS - ANOTHER COMPANION INFECTOR
      *****************************************************************

      Also in this issue: ACME. ACME is another nuisance companion
      virus - simple but easy to drive through the holes of most
      anti-virus file integrity schemes.  ACME will try to create

                                     Page 8




      companion files for every .EXE in the current directory in
      one pass. Those new to the Crypt newsletter will want to
      know that these files are 912-byte hidden, read-only images
      of the ACME virus renamed as a COMfile equivalent of the
      "infected" target. When the "infected" target is executed,
      ACME will gain control of the computer, a consequence
      of the fact the DOS will choose .COM programs before .EXE
      programs of the same name to execute first.

      ACME will lock up the PC with some insane music at 4 in
      the afternoon and release its grip right after midnight.
      ACME won't pollute your data - remove the virus by
      erasing all the hidden, read-only images it produces.
      Try it against Solomon's Toolkit, CPAV or your favorite
      installed software. You will be surprised how quickly
      ACME crawls all over it. Since ACME is restricted to
      a single directory, it is hard for me to imagine it getting
      very far. However, since it is very infectious, an ill-informed
      clumsy reader could have it get away from them. Fortunately,
      ACME is not nasty at all.
      
      ***************************************************************
      PROTO-T: A RESIDENT .COM infector NAMED AFTER ANOMYMOUS
      ELECTRONIC QUACKS
      ***************************************************************
       

      And here it is! The dangerous, baffling PROTO-T! PROTO-T is
      a memory resident infector of .COMfiles. PROTO-T WILL also
      successfully infect COMMAND.COM if given the opportunity while 
      in memory.

      PROTO-T diminishes the amount of memory by around 1k and a
      simple MEM /c command will reveal it, IF the user has enough
      brains to remember what the free memory of his machine was
      BEFORE PROTO-T was installed.

      Files infected by PROTO-T gain the ASCII string, "This program
      is sick. [PROTO-T by Dumbco, INC.]"  In addition, after 4 in
      the afternoon PROTO-T infected programs will issue two
      ugly squawks from the speaker and then begin to read the 
      hard file very quickly, mimicking a massive disk trashing.
      The programs won't function, of course, but the disk will
      be unscathed. It's a good demonstrator and convincingly
      unsettling.

      Enjoy PROTO-T!

      And remember, in the words of Devin What'shisname, "I don't
      like the looks of this one, not at all..."

      ***************************************************************

      LATE STUFF FYI: Here's a list of virus exchange BBS's pulled
      off the FidoNet.


                                     Page 9




     1) U.S.S.R System PHALCON/SKISM   (091) 514-975-9362      DS
     Apply with John Johnson at Landfill BBS 914-hak-vmbs

     2) Darkcoffin/Crypt HQ            (091) 215-966-3576      V32bis
      Sysop : Tim Caton

     3) The VIRUS                      (091) 804-599-4152      2400
     Fidonet 1:271/297, Sysop : Aristotle, John A.Buchanan

     4) The VIRUS EXCHANGE             (091) 602-569-2420      14.4
     Sysop : Michael Coughlin

     5) HSRC BBS, David Butler         (012) 28-3124           2400
     Location : Pretoria, South Africa
     Time 24Hrs
     To phone from outside South Africa: 27-12-283124
     *Appears to be the Human Science Resource Center.

     6) Nemesis Eye, BBS, Darth Vader  (021) 405-3543          2400
     Location : Cape Town, South Africa
     Time  16Hrs to 07Hrs GMT
     To phone from outside South Africa 27-21-4053543

     Ionic Destruction                                    215-722-4524
     Nun Beaters Anonymous                                708-251-5094
     The Hell Pit BBS                                     708-459-7267
                                              
     
     Incidentally, you may also find new copies of the Crypt letter at
     these points.

     ------------------------------------------------------------------

     Nowhere Man reports that he is feverishly working on completion of
     Virus Creation Laboratory 2.0 for a near holiday release. And look
     for N.E.D. polymorphic viruses to start popping up in early
     January.

     ******************************************************************

     ATTENTION READERS! TIME TO GET YOUR DIGS IN FOR THE FIRST ANNUAL
     CRYPT VIRUS/ANTI-VIRUS/VIRUS AWARDS!

     ******************************************************************

     In December, we'll release our picks in a variety of topics for
     best and worse in the virus/anti-virus community. A few of
     the categories:

           Most interesting virus:
           Most valuable player, virus programmer or other:
           Best virus exchange:
           National Dummkopf:
           Best a-v scanner:
           Best a-v software, overall:
           Best publication (we humbly disqualify ourselves):

                                     Page 10




           Biggest flaming idiot:

     Since they're gonna be editor's choices, they'll be purely subjective.
     Nyah! But you, the Crypt reader, can get into the action, too!
     Post your picks and pans on the VxNet with your own trenchant wit
     and I'll be looking for 'em to include in the article. Or, ensure
     your place in the Crypt letter by e-mailing them to me, URNST
     KOUCH, at the BBS's listed at the end of this Crypt letter.

     
     ********************************************************************
     IN THE READING ROOM: A HUMDINGER, PHILIP ZIMMERMAN'S 'PRETTY GOOD
     PRIVACY' DOCUMENTATION
     ********************************************************************

     "Forbidden freeware" is how Philip Zimmerman describes his Pretty
     Good Privacy 2.0 encryption programs. Hah? Yup, I'm reading the
     docs to a freeware program! Docs you might like to browse
     yourself.

     In a testament to the evil of lawyers and government secrecy,
     Zimmerman explains why he can't distribute Pretty Good Privacy
     and why it's contraband, of sorts. The tangled story, according
     to Zimmerman, revolves around a litigation firm known as Public
     Key Partners who own the patent to the RSA encryption used in
     his program. They don't own it in any other country, only the
     U.S. and, apparently, PKP isn't interested in licensing it or
     providing software which uses it. But the Pretty Good Privacy
     methods are in the open literature, the source code is published 
     and anyone can see it. But no one is supposed to use it. 
     In the U.S.A. Wow. 
     
     Nevertheless, Pretty Good Privacy and its source code can be found 
     on thousands of BBS's across the country. 
     
     It's an absurd situation and answers this question: "What do
     you do if you're trapped in a room with Adolf Hitler, Saddam
     Hussein and a lawyer and your gun has two bullets?"
     Answer: "Shoot the lawyer twice."

     The Crypt newsletter recommends you find Pretty Good Privacy
     and read the docs. Heh. They're free.

     ********************************************************************
     THE FINAL CREDITS ROLL!
     ********************************************************************

     Software included with this issue of the Crypt newsletter can be
     assembled by ensuring the MS-DOS program, DEBUG.EXE, is in
     the path and typing: DEBUG <*.scr, where *.scr is the scriptfile
     of interest. Even simpler, throw DEBUG.EXE into your current
     directory with all the files from this newsletter and type
     MAKE. The enclosed MAKE.BAT file will do the rest, prompting your
     machine to produce working copies of the ACME, RAUBKOPY and
     PROTO-T viruses in the current directory.


                                     Page 11




     Keep in mind that in the hands of incompetents, the ill-informed
     and/or lazy, viruses assembled from code in the newsletter can
     mess up data on your machine, sometimes irretrievably. If this
     happens, your day will seem overlong and you may want to kick
     something. Don't curse the newsletter, puh-leez. We're telling
     you viruses WILL mangle your programs, it's what they DO.

     This issue of the newsletter should contain the following files:

         CRPTLET.TR9 - this electronic document
         ACME.SCR - DEBUG scriptfile for the ACME companion virus
         ACME.ASM - A86 listing for the ACME virus
         RAUBKOPY.SCR - DEBUG scriptfile for the RAUBKOPY virus
         PROTO-T.SCR - DEBUG scriptfile for the PROTO-T virus, by Dumbco
         PROTO-T.ASM - TASM/MASM listing for PROTO-T virus
         MAKE.BAT - handy, dandy makefile for Crypt software. Add
         DEBUG and stir.

    If any of these files are missing, ensure completeness by grabbing a
    copy of the Crypt newsletter from the following BBS's:


        CryPt HQ ???????????????????? Dark Coffin VX ???????? 215.966.3576

        Member Support ?????????????? VIRUS_MAN BBS ????????? ITS.PRI.VATE
        Southwest Distribution ?????? Virus Exchange/CC ????? 602.569.2420


   And one last request: Don't upload copies of the Newsletter to the
   Dark Coffin. It makes you seem stupid and waists your valuable long-
   distance on-line time. Thankee for your support.

                                 -*-
























                                     Page 12