Atari virus challenge

Press, 27 September 1988, Page 30

Atari virus challenge

A prize for the first example of an Atari ST virus has been offered by Mr Alex Davidson, of Software Supplies, 622 Colombo Street, Christchurch. “There is no evidence of an Atari virus in New Zealand,” said Mr Davison in response to the warning in the computer pages last week, which came from a Christchurch Atari user group. Mr Davidson, who is a registered Atari software developer, says there are about 40 Atari retail outlets in New Zealand, and he has not heard through any of them of a virus. His company is offering 50 blank floppy disks for the first person to supply a copy of an Atari virus. Mr Davidson’s decision will be final. Disks containiing a virus should be clearly marked “virus” and delivered to or left for Neill Birss, second floor, “The Press,” Christchurch. Name, address, and phone number of the entrant must be enclosed. The competition is open until the end of October. A virus is defined for the competition as a selfreproducing program, which hides itself from users and infects other disks used in an Atari ST machine. Software Supply will want to know where the virus came from: no specially written viruses.