Xref: utzoo comp.sys.atari.st:14383 comp.sys.apple:10519 comp.sys.mac:27669 comp.sys.ibm.pc:25536
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!decwrl!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle
From: Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st,comp.sys.apple,comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Right of reply, virus- public, private- a thin line
Message-ID: <15261@cup.portal.com>
Date: 2 Mar 89 05:29:01 GMT
References: <14940@cup.portal.com> <817@sering.cwi.nl> <3945@ttidca.TTI.COM> <20974@agate.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 19

Lawrence Y. Chiu writes:
>What's the big deal about distributing the source code for vires?  Compute!
>publishes an entire book on the subject, with examples.  Furthermore anyone
>with a disassembler can disassemble a virus.
 
I'm sure you know by now just how responsible I think Compute! was in
publishing virus source code...
 
The thing about disassembling a virus is that first you need to HAVE an
example to disassemble...   if the (stereotyped:nasty teenaged hacker with
nothing better to do) can't get hold of one to study, maybe he'll go make
explosives in his garage with the instructions he downloaded from the
local BBS instead...
 
Publishing source code for a computer virus is like handing out plans for
zipguns at a racially tense high school... maybe 99% will just look at them
and throw them away...  then again, maybe they won't...
 
BobR