| Early text computer applications would sometimes make use of a DOS driver called ANSI.SYS to control display colors. ANSI.SYS also has the capability of remapping the keyboard. To do this a user had to load ANSI.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS file and then force a particular sequence of characters, starting with the Escape key, to the screen. These would be intercepted by ANSI.SYS and the particular key on the keyboard would then be remapped to perform some defined function. An ANSI Bomb simply forced showing of a keystroke remapping sequence that might, e.g., remap the F1 key to issue a command that might delete everything on the C: drive (or any other command). The solution, of course, was to not use ANSI.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file (it was rarely needed then and never today) and make certain any ANSI simulators you might use as part of a communications program disable keyboard remapping. |
