Re: Let's start over

"David H. Lipman" <[email protected]> Tue, 01 Feb 2011 10:51:02 -0500
Newsgroups gmane.comp.security.virus
Message-ID <[email protected]>
There is no malware that specifically targets the clock.
 
People look at their computer and they wonder at the marvel of its computing power yet 
they fail to understand that a computer is NOT an accurate time piece.  They expect it to 
be because, hell computers are accurate - right ?
 
When it comes to the PC clock, no.  The clock on one's wrist in the form of a watch is 
much more accurate.  Older platforms as expressed here just don't hold an accurate time 
and one can't expect it to.
 
In a case like this one should just point the PC to the NIST's time server so when you are 
in the OS, you have a pretty close time.  When you are outside of the OS, who cares if it 
doesn't have the correct time.
 
http://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/grp40/its.cfm

Dave





Date forwarded: 	Tue, 01 Feb 2011 02:14:09 -0700 (MST)
Date sent:      	Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:46:59 -0600
Forwarded by:   	[email protected]
From:           	Jay Scalf <[email protected]>
Subject:        	Let's start over
To:             	[email protected]
Organization:   	James F. Scalf & Associates, Architects, AIA

> Dave ultimately had the answer for "updateg", but let me ask further, if 
> I may: I normal maintain 3 computers and don't have a lot of problems. 
> (I started in college on Cobol (is that how you spell it?) and Fortran 
> over 40 years ago, learned to program in DOS and C in the 80's, and of 
> all Windows, still prefer XP) The machine in question is a 7 year old 
> machine given to me by my best friend's widow. He first thought he had a 
> Trojan or a virus affecting the clock. I suggested the battery. He went 
> to the Geeks at Best Buy and they sold him a new battery, put the old 
> one back in and told him he needed a new hard drive - then sold him a 
> new computer and charged $100 extra to move his data from the old to new 
> machine. (Unbelievable, eh?) When I got home with it about 10 days ago, 
> I put his new battery in it, ran all sorts of hardware tests, and I 
> can't find anything wrong with it. Still, because of his first 
> impression that it is infected, I am still running various scans. So - 
> anyone ever heard of a virus or whatever that messes with the clock or 
> somehow drains the clock battery? If he was right I would like to find 
> and remove whatever. As I am beginning to feel pretty good about its PC 
> state of health overall, if I don't find something in a couple of days, 
> I will finish cleaning his personal stuff off of it and load my stuff.
> 
> BTW: Thanks to everyone for their responses regarding "updateg" - lots 
> of good information.
> Jay
> 
> -- 
> As faxed/scanned signatures are considered legal in most States, hard copies of attachments, where applicable, will not be sent unless specifically requested.
> 
> 
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--  

                                Mr. David H. Lipman
                                [email protected]
                             Yahoo IM:  david_h_lipman



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