Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!kth!draken!d88-jwa
From: d88-jwa@nada.kth.se (Jon W{tte)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Ethics (about viruses)
Message-ID: <1317@draken.nada.kth.se>
Date: 18 Jul 89 13:29:10 GMT
References: <11648@orstcs.CS.ORST.EDU> <4900@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
Reply-To: d88-jwa@nada.kth.se (Jon W{tte)
Organization: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Lines: 40

In article <4900@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> heberlei@iris.ucdavis.edu (Todd) writes:
>The ethics question should first be addressed to the people who write
>the viruses!  Does anyone know if any virus writers have ever been

Hear, hear !!

>Here are a few (completely unfounded) suspects for virus writers
>(please take this as purely tongue in cheek):

>* software houses - if there is a good public domain package out there

And if they got caught in the act or a leak (they would) noone'd buy
their programs.

>* software sellers (including software houses) - If your business is

So when the word gets out their stock crashes to about $0.03

>* sellers of virus protection software - Create a problem then sell

It just MIGHT be that way. Maybe. Not possibly, of course.

>On the serious side, I find it terribly sad that talented people would

Oh, I see. But talented ? My experience with virus makers (no first-hand,
but with that kind of people) is that it's Kobolds in the teens who want
to get famous and well-known and see their "feat" talked about. They are
NOT that talented, since then they would

a) Have better things to do (and get paid for ?)

b) Hide their viras much better (I could think of a few ways, none of
   which I'll tell anyone of course)

This is, of course, just MY view of things. Take it or leave it.

-- 
 __       Jon W{tte (The dread Smiley Shark) email:h+@nada.kth.se
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