Virus writers jailed.

I understand where you are coming from. I also understand that the computing industry and everything it stands for is essential to everyday life and those that would seek to destroy it need to be made examples of.

I am not saying I advocate this sort of thing, only that its got to happen, you know it, I know it.

quote:

Will we start jailing people for bad advertising next?

I bloody hope so.

Howard

Chaps

Those who make viruses cause millions of pounds worth of expense to commerce as well as to the private citizen.

They are no different from arsonist because their activities can cause a computer to fail which in an extreme case could be the cause of a death.

They should be imprisoned and their assetts siezed to help pay for the damage they cause.

Regards

Mick

I deplore the utter waste of talent, brains and effort in trying to bring down the system instead of creating something unique and beautiful.

About time these sods were taken seriously. As it turns out this particular virus was not the most harmful but it still caused massive amounts of hassle. The amount of money, time, and effort this sort of thing costs my department (a relatively small IT department) is ridiculous. And this inevitably ends up being passed on as a cost to customers (students in my case). It's not a victimless crime. It costs every one of us.

they got what they deserve
as anyone who had to format a pc because of a virus will testify

i would have brought back hanging

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Chaps

Those who make viruses cause millions of pounds worth of expense to commerce as well as to the private citizen.

They are no different from arsonist because their activities can cause a computer to fail which in an extreme case could be the cause of a death.

They should be imprisoned and their assetts siezed to help pay for the damage they cause.

Regards

Mick

.... and how much has industry had to shell out as a result of Mr Gates' apathy towards software security, memory buffer issues and other problems Microsoft refuse to address and fix on the grounds that their next release (or service pack ) will solve all ills ?

It is a very odd situation that such a monopoly is tolerated. It is almost as if the sea were owned by one company and everybody had to pay Bill Gates to use it. Whether you were the owner of a leaking rowing boat or a vast fleet of supertankers.

Had Microsoft not been owned by an American one can be absolutely sure that the US would not have tolerated it. Or even a much smaller fraction of its present global share. That this placed almost the entire world's commerce in such a vulnerable position is testament to the corruption of globalisation to suit their own ends.

Greed wins. But only for a while. I believe it merely hastens the descent of the US into total oblivion. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Is there anything more corrupt and corrupted than the US today?

quote:

Originally posted by long-time-dead:
.... and how much has industry had to shell out as a result of Mr Gates' apathy towards software security, memory buffer issues and other problems Microsoft refuse to address and fix on the grounds that their next release (or service pack ) will solve all ills ?

The difference is that you choose to run Microsoft software on your home computer, or your employer chooses to run it on their works computers.

You don't generally choose to have your system(s) infected by a virus.

Just as a general question on the monopoly thing, how many of you use a Windows PC because you did all the research and decided it was the best tool for the job, and how many of you run a Windows PC but don't really know why you do.. that's just how it seems to have ended up..?

Simple from my POV Paul. All my clients and their clients run Wondows based PCs. And with one exception they all use IE and Outlook. Bit of a no brainer really. Those who feel that MS are exploiting them can run any non MS set up they like - no one's forcing anybody.

Cheers

Harry

Computers are tools - nothing more; nothing less. A certain amount of responsibility for computer viruses must be accepted by the good people who gave us the frame of reference within which they operate - ie: the operating system and the choice of language used to code it.

I'm sure there are mal-adjusted twits who could write killer viruses for Linux platforms and who wouldn't need any particular motive for doing so. So, where are the Linux viruses - other than as proof of concept?

quote:

Originally posted by Deane F:
Computers are tools - nothing more; nothing less. A certain amount of responsibility for computer viruses must be accepted by the good people who gave us the frame of reference within which they operate - ie: the operating system and the choice of language used to code it.

I was not aware that the choice of language used to encode Windows could have any significance but I know very little about these things. Does Windows run under an interpreter, or something?

The only people responsible for computer viruses are the virus writers, just as the only people responsible for terrorism are the terrorists. Now, one might argue that 7/7 might have been prevented if only Blair had had the foresight to introduced Sharia law but there isn't really a Microsoft equivalent. Microsoft could have done a better job of making the virus writer's task more difficult but can an operating system be made virus-proof? Maybe I've allowed my intuition to overstep my knowledge but it seems intrinsically impossible, to me.

As for Linux, I think it's a question of the psychology of virus writers. If their deeds were a matter of intellectual satisfaction then they could stick to doing harmless and more challenging things such as writing chess programs. As it is, according to what I've read, most virus writers these days, far from being expert programmers, simply use virus-writing kits that require minimal expertise. So I think they do it because they want to make an impact on the world, get their name known to other virus writers, infect millions of computers, get mentioned in news reports etc. That's why they go for Windows, IMO.

Computer viruses are not new. Windows has gone through several incarnations since viruses turned up in the world. Windows is still vulnerable to malicious code and there is a huge industry built around protecting Windows platforms from such code.

Sending a couple of boys to jail changes absolutely damned nothing at all.

Mum! Deano just said "damned" on the internet!

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Sending a couple of boys to jail changes absolutely damned nothing at all.

So what do you suggest we do with virus writers Deane? Rap their knuckles and send them on their way and basically ignore the commercial damage and cost that resulted from their "work" or do you have another suggestion?

Cheers

Jim

Chaps

These guys are costing us all a fortune and if the wrong computer gets screwed up, you could be talking the loss of someones life.

We need to make a very public and strict example that will scare the little sods.

Make it a mandatory 30 years and no teenager is going to risk having to spend half his life rotting in a cell. It may be hard but the message needs to go out that if they play games,
expect to do a long stretch if caught.

This is one crime where no mercy should be shown, not even for a first offence.

Regards

Mick

quote:

Originally posted by Mick Parry:

These guys are costing us all a fortune and if the wrong computer gets screwed up, you could be talking the loss of someones life.

Mick

I think the administrator of a critical system such as the one you hypothetically suggest ought to have built into that system some robust redundancy and security.

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This is one crime where no mercy should be shown, not even for a first offence.

But then, can you think of a crime where you think mercy should be shown?

Deane

quote:

Originally posted by Deane F:

I think the administrator of a critical system such as the one you hypothetically suggest ought to have built into that system some robust redundancy and security.


Deane

That goes without saying but since we're dealing with human beings and equipment designed by human beings nothing is foolproof. Any system has vulnerabilities and a good IT Manager will have minimised those vulnerabilities within the limits of his budget but accidents happen, people make mistakes, staff occasionally disregard the Acceptable Use Policy they signed, etc. The bottom line responsibilty for damage caused by viruses lies with the creators of those viruses, and as such they should be dealt with severely by the courts.

Hmmmm, can anybody think of a system critical to life that runs on the world's most common and commonly attacked operating system...?

Air Traffic Control to 747 pilot:

"Control to Heavy 567, I've got a blue screen here - keep your eyes open and I'll roboot, download the latest patches, install, reboot, download that .dll file I need and see if we can't have you in controlled airspace again in the next thirty minutes. Don't go anywhere..."

And how is this relevant to the punishment meted out to these criminals?

Mick made out that computer viruses are of life and death importance. I was answering his "point". Is that ok with you Tom?

quote:

Originally posted by Deane F:
Mick made out that computer viruses are of life and death importance. I was answering his "point". Is that ok with you Tom?

what about this?

That's a distinct possibility. This virus infected US security systems and I believe got into some hospital systems.

Much more likely is that they'll cause severe economic disruption which in my book is not good news either.

But at least one expert says the case illustrates a growing cybersecurity problem in the nuclear power industry, where interconnection between plant and corporate networks is becoming more common, and is permitted by federal safety regulations.

On a brief reading it looks to me like better regulation of the nuclear power industry could more effectively address the safety issues involved than sending boys to gaol in fair England.