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From: frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Re: Job Market (PC)
Message-ID: <0003.9101021908.AA04408@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 24 Dec 90 11:05:18 GMT
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  DRAGON@RCN.BITNET writes:

>...  What kind of job market is there for computer programmers who
>specialize on detecting and eliminating viruses from other systems?
>Is it a job that one can make a decent living at?  What languages
>(Computer) are best suited for combatting viruses?  And who
>(Corporations) would hire a computer anti-hacker?  Thanks for all
>your help.

Well...as I am one of the people who partially make a living out of
fighting viruses, I have a few suggestions.

You can indeed make a decent living by fighting viruses, but it is hard to
get rich.  Anyhow, there are three options:

	1 - writing and selling anti-virus software...it is possible, but
            not easy...I just barely make enough money from my own programs
            to continue writing them.  If you want to write such programs,
	    be warned...it is a difficult market and crowded...but if you
            still want to try...here is what you need:

            Very good knowledge of assembly language...I am not talking
            about a one-semester course or anything like that...you need
            the kind of practice you get by writing assembly-language programs
            for several years.

            Very good knowledge of the operating system in question - you
            must know every documented call, and also quite a few of the
            undocumented ones.

            Very good knowledge of the hardware...I/O ports, absolute
            addresses etc.

	    Decent knowledge of at lest one high level language...C or
	    Pascal recommended.

	    Last, but not least...samples of most of the different viruses,
	    just to make sure your programs work.  On a PC this means nearly
            350 different viruses...and a lot of work...

            The problem of course is to sell your program...having the best
            anti-virus program is not of much use, if nobody knows of
	    its existence.

	2 - Anti virus service...no programming, you just help people clean
	    up viruses and recover from attacks.  This also involves
            installing anti-virus programs.

	3 - Writing about viruses...write a book...or magazine articles or
	    anything.

	    The problem, in my opinion, is that all the virus-books available
	    only increase the "popularity" of viruses, leading to the writing
	    of still more viruses.

- -frisk

Fridrik Skulason      University of Iceland  |
Technical Editor of the Virus Bulletin (UK)  |  Reserved for future expansion
E-Mail: frisk@rhi.hi.is    Fax: 354-1-28801  |