**TROJAN ALERT** >>> SUG.ARC / SUG.

COM <<<
The following has been posted on GEnie, "General Electric Network for
Information Exchange," IBM Roundtable BBD special alert notice. Seems
SOFTGUARD may be distributing a TROJAN "unprotect" program to erase disks
and bolster their "shrinking" copy protection business.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:
|
| Category 3, Topic 3
| Message 77 Wed Sep 24, 1986
| R.DHESI [Rahul Dhesi] at 23:48 EDT
|
| I found the following message on the Morningstar Keep node of the
| Citadel BBS system (call it at 609/268-9597). What makes this
| message especially alarming is the fact that, as far as I can
| ascertain, so-called "shrink-wrap" license agreements have never been
| shown to be enforcible in a court of law. Thus, not only is it
| probably legal for you to make a backup copy of so-called "licensed
| software", but if the publisher omits to register the work with the
| Copyright Office and submit two copies of the software to the Library
| of Congress, he may not even be entitled to attorney's fees and
| punitive damages even if he sues you for real dishonest copyright
| infringement. (If the publisher does register the work with the
| copyright office, it becomes a published work and it becomes
| impossible for the publisher to get any kind of trade secret
| protection, or enforce a prohibition against reverse-engineering.
| There goes the software protection scheme!!--A delightful dilemma for
| the software publisher.) Consult your attorney for specific legal
| advice, but make sure he doesn't consult for a software company.
------------------------------Begin Message----------------------------
| 86Sep19 02:15pm from Andy Meyer
|
| 86Sep18 02:46pm from Ted Mozer @ Brick
| **** DANGER !!!! Data Destroying Program !!!
|
| The File called SUG.ARC (or SUG.COM) is purported to be an unprotect
| for Softgard. It is, in reality, a real Worm of the worst magnitude!
| This little Gem will ask you to put your ORIGINAL Softgard protected
| disk in the drive, and then BAM!! it displays this message:
|
| "You have violated the license agreement under which you received
| the software. All your data has been destroyed. This destruct-
| ion constitutes prima facia evidence of your criminal violation.
| If you attempt to challenge Softguard Systems, Inc. or the soft-
| ware vendor in court, you will be vigorously counter-sued for
| infringement and theft of services; we believe that our case will
| have more merit to it than yours. If you have any questions con-
| cerning this matter, you are invited to contact our lawyers at
| the following address:
|
| Softguard Systems Incorporated
| [address and telephone number given].
|
| We'll be happy to explain to you the precarious legal position
| you're in. We wish you good luck in restoring your software
| from backups and we hope that in the future you'll act more
| like an honest user and less like a thief.
|
| Happy Computing."
|
| ... AND IT IS SERIOUS!!
|
| It will look for drives A: & B: and, get this, a Drive C: or better!!
| In other words, it will wipe out the FAT on your hard disk too, just to
| "teach you a lesson". Attorneys are presently looking into what can be
| done to stick this up the lower abdominal region of the person or per-
| sons responsible for its existence.
|
| .. IF YOU HAVE IT, GET RID OF IT !!! //
-------------------------------End Message----------------------------
Interesting? Here's one from the the Atlanta PC User's Group BBS,
home of the Lone Victor:
-------------------------------Begin Message--------------------------
|Date: 09-03-86 (17:14) Number: 3265
| To: LONE VICTOR Refer#: NONE
|From: BILL MOSS Recv'd: YES
|Subj: SUG.ARC Sec'ty: PUBLIC MESSAGE
|
|Please take a look at SUG.ARC which purports to unprotect Softguard,
|but destroys the diskette by erasing all files but not the FAT. It
|appears to be in retaliation for your work. More than ever we need
|your help with SOFTGUARD 3.00. The lecture that goes along with SUG.ARC
|is too much!!!
-------------------------------End Message----------------------------
Assuming that Sofguard really did create this file, I have the
following comments.
First, Softguard's battle (battle? you might prefer to call it
terrorism) against protection busters is almost moot, for most major
software publishers have dropped the idea of copy-protection
altogether. Perhaps this very fact has put Softguard's management in
a mood bad enough to lash out thus.
Second, Softguard's legal position seems quite shaky to me. Last year
Vault corporation announced a software protection scheme that would,
if it detected a fradulent effort to copy the software, make "Vietnam
look like a birthday party" (or some such thing) by planting a worm
that would slowly but surely destroy the user's files. When Vault
announced its worm-based copy-protection scheme, many knowledgeable
people expressed the opinion that Vault was likely to be liable for
damages if people lost valuable data because of the scheme. What
Softguard seems to be doing is definitely more vicious. Add together
a probably unenforcible license agreement (to which Softguard isn't
even a party as far as the user is concerned) and clear evidence of a
vicious attempt to destroy the user's data, and you have a pretty good
case against SUG.ARC's creator. In fact, you could very easily
create a test case by (a) taking a legally-purchased copy of
Softguard-protected software; (b) unpacking it without ever reading
the "license agreement" in a state other than the handful (such as
Lousiana and Illinois) that attempt to make such agreements
enforcible; (c) having some valuable software on your hard disk,
(d) "accidentally" destroying any backup copy already provided, and
(e) trying to make a backup copy of the original with the help of
SUG.ARC. It would be interesting to see what would happen if you
then sued Softguard for damages. Interesting, but not very
surprising.
I think therefore that the Softguard folks (if SUG.ARC did indeed
originate from them) are relying on the individual not having the
financial resources to sue them or to withstand a long legal battle
if they sue him. It's therefore a strategy of intimidation.
(As an aside: That such a strategy of intimidation could be a viable
one demonstrates a major flaw in this legal system. Justice costs a
lot, sometimes so much that one can't afford it. There are several
reasons for this, all avoidable, but none appropriate for discussion
in this RT or under this topic.)
How do users fight back?
Perhaps we won't have to. It may be enough that the presence of this
dangerous file be made widely known.
Possibly as a result of the public outcry that followed its
announcement of the worm scheme, Vault went into Chapter 11
bankruptcy -- poetic justice, I think. This left Softguard with a
near-monopoly on the software protection business in the IBM PC
world.
If the SUG.ARC file is indeed Softguard's creation, then it seems to
me they are following Vault down the Yellow Brick Road (or is it the
garden path?) -- and I look forward to more poetic justice when the
public outcry occurs again.
We are Paul Revere. Pass it on!
--