Advanced topic: file damage equals virus attack

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MYTH: "my files are damaged, so it must have been a virus attack" (advanced discussion)

Rob Rosenberger says:

Suppose your computer started acting weird all of a sudden. How would you react? Would you instinctively reach for antivirus software as your first course of action?

Computers are extremely complex. All sorts of things can go wrong -- software glitches, hardware failures, user error, you name it. The next time your computer does something weird, ask yourself: "How would I react if I'd never heard about computer viruses?"

"I just assumed it was the Hare virus"

The following exchange took place on the UseNet comp.virus newsgroup. It involved Chengi "Jimmy" Kuo of McAfee Associates and a person who identified himself only as Les. Kuo noted the number of computers affected worldwide by the Hare virus on 8/22/96 -- and Les stepped in with a personal anecdote:

Chengi J. Kuo:
Informal poll among 8 or so [antivirus] vendors registered approximately 30 incidents [of the Hare virus] affecting 80 or so machines worldwide.
Les:
I had it while my machine was unattended (home PC) and it wiped me out. Two hard disks and a zip disk which happened to be in at the time.
Chengi J. Kuo:
Not to say that you didn't have it but, how does an unattended machine wipe itself out with a virus that only does this stuff on bootup?
Les:
Well I guess I am only assuming that that's what it did, because it was the correct date....