Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!glee
From: glee@cognos.uucp (Godfrey Lee)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Guidelines for virus authors
Message-ID: <2369@cognos.UUCP>
Date: 2 Mar 88 19:01:58 GMT
Article-I.D.: cognos.2369
Posted: Wed Mar  2 14:01:58 1988
References: <8802072054.AA03747@jade.berkeley.edu> <339@sas.UUCP> <7120@oberon.USC.EDU>
Reply-To: glee@cognos.UUCP (Godfrey Lee)
Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada
Lines: 26

In article <7120@oberon.USC.EDU> bishop@skat.usc.edu (Brian Bishop) writes:
>  This was the stupidest posting I have ever read in my life. If the Amiga
>conference is going to become a bunch of close-minded people like this, maybe
>I'll go buy a Timex-Sinclair. ;-)
>
>  Seriously, though, I think that the original posting had a good point. If
>there are any potential virus authors out there (and you *know* there are
>some getting this feed somewhere), then it would be good to make them aware
>of any method to make their creations less harmful. Pretending they don't exist
>won't help, and I just don't buy the argument that suggestions like these
>will entice anybody to write a virus who wasn't going to anyway.

Somehow, this argument grates against me. No, we should not pretend that virus
writers don't exist. They do. We have seen the results. No, I don't think we
should teach them how to write viruses to minimize their damage. We should
teach/persuade them that viruses are bad, and they should not do it. Of course,
some won't listen. Well, they won't listen to guidelines to make viruses
"harmless" either.

By the way, if you continue to feel a need to pamper virus writers, I wish you
do go buy a Timex-Sinclair, and take all the virus writers with you!  NO :-)
-- 
Godfrey Lee                                      P.O. Box 9707
Cognos Incorporated                              3755 Riverside Dr.
VOICE:  (613) 738-1440   FAX: (613) 738-0002     Ottawa, Ontario
UUCP: decvax!utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!glee      CANADA  K1G 3Z4