Counteracting Viruses in an MS-DOS Environment

Abstract

Today's personal computers still bear striking similarities to the first units created during the 1970s. All of the trapdoors and loopholes developed by systems experts to permit BIOS-level programming in the early stages are still present today, providing easy access for viruses, worms, logic bombs, and Trojan horses. It is alarming that such low-level programs are no longer being documented fully by manufacturers; they are currently treating as proprietary the techniques that were widely disseminated just a few years ago. Administrators and systems managers who are responsible for the millions of dollars of corporate investment in trusted computing systems typically lack an in-depth understanding of these systems. Unfortunately, penetration techniques, though not readily available, are known to an underground of hackers. Although numerous antivirus products have become available, these products are as available to hackers as to legitimate users.