Developer(s) | John Norstad at Northwestern University |
---|---|
Initial release | March 18, 1989 [1] |
Final release | 3.7.1 / July 1997 [2] |
Operating system | Classic Mac OS |
License | Freeware [3] |
Disinfectant was a popular antivirus software program for the classic Mac OS. It was originally released as freeware by John Norstad in the spring of 1989. [3] Disinfectant featured a system extension that would detect virus infections and an application with which users could scan for and remove viruses. [4] New versions of Disinfectant were subsequently released to detect additional viruses. [4] Bob LeVitus praised and recommended Disinfectant in 1992. [5] In May 1998, Norstad retired Disinfectant, citing the new danger posed by macro viruses, which Disinfectant did not detect, and the inability of a single individual to maintain a program that caught all of them. [3] [6]
Macworld/iWorld was an information technology trade show with conference tracks dedicated to Apple's Mac platform. It was held annually in the United States during January. Originally Macworld Expo and then Macworld Conference & Exposition, the gathering dates back to 1985. The conference was organized by International Data Group (IDG), co-publisher of Macworld magazine.
System 6 is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers, made by Apple Computer It was released in 1988, and is part of the classic Mac OS series. It is a monolithic operating system, with cooperative multitasking based on an improved MultiFinder. The boxed version cost US$49, and it was included with all new Macintosh computers until 1991, when it was succeeded by System 7.
Star Trek is the code name that was given to a secret prototype project, running a port of Macintosh System 7 and its applications on Intel-compatible x86 personal computers. The project, starting in February 1992, was conceived in collaboration between Apple Computer, who provided the majority of engineers, and Novell, who at the time was one of the leaders of cross-platform file-servers. The plan was that Novell would market the resulting OS as a challenge to Microsoft Windows, but the project was discontinued in 1993 and never released, although components were reused in other projects. The project was named after the Star Trek science fiction franchise with the slogan "To boldly go where no Mac has gone before".
Connectix Corporation was a software and hardware company, noted for having released innovative products that were either made obsolete as Apple Computer incorporated the ideas into system software, or were sold to other companies once they became popular. It was formed in October 1988 by Jon Garber; dominant board members and co-founders were Garber, Bonnie Fought, and close friend Roy McDonald. McDonald was still Chief Executive Officer and president when Connectix finally closed in August 2003.
SuperCard is a high-level development environment that runs on Macintosh computers, under OS 8 and 9, and OS X. It is inspired by HyperCard, but includes a richer language, a full GUI toolkit, and native color.
Norton AntiVirus is an anti-virus or anti-malware software product founded by Peter Norton, developed and distributed by Symantec since 1990 as part of its Norton family of computer security products. It uses signatures and heuristics to identify viruses. Other features included in it are e-mail spam filtering and phishing protection.
Norton Utilities is a utility software suite designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain a computer. The latest version of the original series of Norton Utilities is Norton Utilities 16 for Windows XP/Vista/7/8 was released 26 October 2012.
After Dark is a series of computer screensaver software introduced by Berkeley Systems in 1989 for the Apple Macintosh, and in 1991 for Microsoft Windows.
Tidbits is an electronic newsletter and web site dealing primarily with Apple Inc. and Macintosh-related topics.
Cary Lu was an American writer specialising in the Apple Macintosh platform.
The Talking Moose is an animated talking utility for the Apple Macintosh. It was created in 1986 by Canadian programmer Steven Halls. It is the first animated talking agent on a personal computer and featured a moose that would appear at periodic intervals with some joke or witticism. The moose would also comment on system events and user actions and could speak what a user typed using the Moose Proof desk accessory.
MODE32 is a software product originally developed by Connectix for certain models of the Apple Macintosh. It was published in June 1991 and originally cost US$169; however, on September 5, 1991, the software was made available free to customers under licensing terms with Apple Computer.
The System suitcase is one of two essential files that make up the classic Mac OS, the other being the Macintosh Finder. If either file is missing or corrupted, a Mac may display a blinking question mark when booting. The suitcase is located in the System Folder, like the Finder file, and contains keyboard layouts, FKEY resources, cursors, icons, sounds, and, in System 6, bitmap fonts, and desk accessories. Mac OS only supports one System file; the presence of more than one System file on a hard disk is likely to cause system instability.
Bob LeVitus is an American author of more than 75 computer-related books, particularly on the Apple Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad for the book series ...For Dummies. He worked as a columnist for the Houston Chronicle since 1996 and for The Mac Observer since 2001, until his retirement from both outlets in 2022. In 2001, Macworld magazine described him as "a well-known columnist and speaker in the Mac world".
Scores was a computer virus affecting Macintosh machines. It was first discovered in Spring 1988. It was written by a disgruntled programmer and specifically attacks two applications that were under development at his former company. These programs were never released to the public.
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Fifth Generation Systems, Inc., was a computer security company founded October 1984 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States by Robert Mitchell, Leroy Mitchell, Roger Ivey, and Bruce Ray. All four later left the company. Fifth Generation's initial commercial product was FastBack, the first practical hard disk backup program for the IBM PC.
A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a computer virus, a metaphor derived from biological viruses.
ANTI is a computer virus affecting Apple Macintosh computers running classic Mac OS versions up to System 6. It was the first Macintosh virus not to create additional resources within infected files; instead, it patches existing CODE resources.