..The Alameda (or Merritt) Virus

This is a boot sector virus that is in some respects similar to the Pakistani
Brain virus.  It has a flaw, however, that limits its potential to spread, as
was the case with the Israeli virus.  It saves the original boot sector during
the infection process but does not write-protect the area of the disk where
it is saved.  As the disk is used, the original boot sector may become 
overwritten and the virus self-destructs.

This virus has an unusual infection technique.  It only infects diskettes
when the system is rebooted.  When a new system diskette is placed in the
floppy drive and the system is rebooted, the virus takes control of the
reboot sequence and uses the opportunity to infect the new diskette.  From all
external appearances, the system appears to be doing a reboot, but such is not
the case.  The virus just pretends to reboot.  It still retains control of the
system.

This virus was first detected at Alameda College in May 1988.  It has spread
from coast to coast and now accounts for a significant percentage of PC
infections.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Computer Viruses, Worms, Data Diddlers, Killer Programs, and Other Threats
To Your System: What They Are, How They Work, And How To Defend your PC, Mac,
Or Mainframe."  McAfee, John and Colin Haynes. (C) 1989 by John McAfee and
Colin Haynes.  St. Martin's Press.  p. 107.
