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From: Bill.Weston@f12.n376.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Bill Weston)
Newsgroups: comp.virus
Subject: Viruses Rhyme And Reason
Message-ID: <0005.9001021329.AA00784@ge.sei.cmu.edu>
Date: 28 Dec 89 05:07:36 GMT
Sender: Virus Discussion List <VIRUS-L@IBM1.CC.Lehigh.EDU>
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Approved: krvw@sei.cmu.edu

I'm not sure that writing viruses will ever stop.

Ross Greenberg wrote perhaps the best psychological profile of the
"virus programmer" that I have ever read.  (It's in the docs of
FLUSHOT, you've all read it...)

 The virus writer likes causing damange.  He thinks it's funny and makes him
feel powerful.  You can bet that most of them are reading what is written
here.  Just look at the worldwide scope of the current AIDS virus scam.  To
this day, tha STONED virus still infects thousands of systems all over the
world.  (Poorly written as it is..)

The target of many virus writers are the millions of PC users who don't know
much about computers.  The novice user, or perhaps the user who knows how to
run programs but does not know much about DOS, is the primary mark.  A friend
of mine was just such a person.  Less than 20 days after buying his PC he was
hit by the STONED virus.  He did not know how to protect himself.  Lots of
grins for the programmer.

There will always be socially retarded morons to write virus programs.  There
is only one way to stop them - cold.  Forums such as this. It is possible that
this very ECHO stopped and cured the AIDS virus...  I wonder how many
thousands of PC users did not install that "program" thanks to what they read
here.

 ---- REMEMBER ----  There is *NO* better protection than FULL AND ADEQUATE
BACKUPS!!!!!

Bill Weston == ...!usceast!uscacm!12!Bill.Weston