Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 11:12:07 -0500
Message-Id: <199911031612.LAA27984@hermes.usherb.ca>
From: Achaz von Hardenberg <achaz@hermes.usherb.ca>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: Re: computer virus
> I read somewhere once that computer viruses
> are incapable of producing advantageous mutations on their own.  Is this
> correct? If so, why not?  Anyone have a reference?
> Ray Recchia
Computer viruses are incapable of producing any mutation on their own, unless 
they are programmed to do so (but I am not aware of any computer virus which 
does something like this). Computer viruses, which are computer programs, make 
exact copies of themselves (clones), and there is virtually no error rate in 
this process. 
Achaz von Hardenberg
Departement de Biologie 
Universite' de Sherbrooke
Sherbrooke, PQ J1K 2R1, Canada
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