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- xThe INIT-M Virus
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- The INIT-M virus was discovered at Dartmouth College in April, 1993.
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- INIT-M is a malicious virus. It is designed to trigger on any Friday the
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- 13th. The virus severely damages a large number of folders and files. File
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- names are changed to random 8 character strings. Folder names are
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- changed to random 1-8 character strings. File creators and types are
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- changed to random 4 character strings. This changes the icons associated
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- with the files and destroys the relationship between programs and their
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- documents. File creation and modification dates are changed to Jan. 1,
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- 1904. In some cases, one file or folder on a disk may be renamed “Virus
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- MindCrime”. In some very rare circumstances, the virus may also delete
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- a file or files.
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- Note that the next three Friday the 13ths are in May 1994, January
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- 1995, and October 1995.
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- The virus can also sometimes cause problems with the proper display of
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- windows.
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- The virus only spreads and attacks under System 7.0 or later. It does not
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- spread or attack under System 6. The Disinfectant protection INIT,
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- however, will detect an infected application under any system.
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- The virus infects all kinds of files, including extensions, applications,
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- preference files, and document files.
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- The virus creates a file named “FSV Prefs” in the Preferences folder. If
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- you use Disinfectant to repair an infected system, it will delete this file.
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- The damage caused by the INIT-M virus is very similar to that caused by
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- the INIT 1984 virus. Despite this similarity, the two viruses are very
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- different in other respects and should not be confused.
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