Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub!dsinc!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1.cc.lehigh.edu!cert.sei.cmu.edu!krvw From: vail@tegra.com (Johnathan Vail) Newsgroups: comp.virus Subject: Re: Virus-writers Message-ID: <0009.9106181359.AA17901@ubu.cert.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 17 Jun 91 21:13:08 GMT Sender: Virus Discussion List Lines: 32 Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason) writes: padgett%tccslr.dnet@mmc.com (A. Padgett Peterson) writes: >According to this (PC) week's Spencer Katt column, certain anti-viral >software houses are boosting their counts by soliciting viruses for >pay and programmers are taking them up for "big bucks". If that is true, I and and the Virus Bulletim would very much like to know which companies are involved - I would do my best to drive them out of business..... And well you should. I would find this hard to believe. I would tend believe Spencer Katt as much as I would Dave Berry or Andy Rooney. I do believe that the anti-virus companies are hyping up the fear of viruses in order to sell more product. I have been working with personal computers since 78 and with the exceptions of the viruses that I wrote myself (the first one was in 1980) and a Mac virus that went around here at work last year I have never seen or heard a first hand account of a virus. Of course I don't do much with shareware or BBS downloading which is where I imagine most of the problems are. jv <<-- Of course I will probably be bummin' when I do get hit... "It's not a cormorant it's not a shag. Its just something in a plastic bag" -- RH _____ | | Johnathan Vail | n1dxg@tegra.com |Tegra| (508) 663-7435 | N1DXG@448.625-(WorldNet) ----- jv@n1dxg.ampr.org {...sun!sunne ..uunet}!tegra!vail