On Thu, 9 Nov 2000, Andy wrote:

> This morning, I stopped by the store where I bought my pc, to ask their
> technical guys about the virus problem.  I needn't have worried.
> Fortunately, when I got my computer, I got a quality machine that doesn't have
> this defect.  It turns out that only computers that have a serious fault in the
> software are capable of being infected by one of these viruses, what the
> technical boys referred to as 'junker' pc's.

As others have already pointed out, what the "technical guys"
told you is complete rubbish.  In fact, it is so egregious that
it is very likely *dishonest* rubbish, and gives good reason not
to do business with them.  They were, in essence, dismissing you
with a lie.

It is indeed true that there are differences in quality among
PCs.  Those differences are not, however, the result of software
faults.  If it is the Eudora program, for example, that "catches"
the virus, then it is important to understand that the Eudora
that you run on your quality machine is exactly the same as the
Eudora that I run on my junker.  PCs of whatever level of quality
run the same software, and the viruses are written specifically
to interact with that software.

You will need to learn to take the same precautions that everyone
else takes; your system is exactly as vulnerable as anyone
else's.

Todd Moody
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