Thread: Viruses

Back when I was a big VX onlooker a couple years ago, I noticed something pretty quickly: most of the people who write those viruses don't do it for malicious purposes. If you look at some famed works by ones such as Z0MBiE, GriYo and the like (google it,) you'll notice a lot of their works are simply proof-of-concepts.
They're generally made to prove a point rather than screw you over, which is why many viruses distributed amongst the VX scenes these days also have source code many times, and in many cases cases, people write papers over their viruses (google "vx 29a".) The authors generally attach non-liability clauses to their released code (naturally,) and I can bet you in just about every case, the authors aren't the ones who release the virus anyway.

In plenty of cases, the people who write viruses and the like *aren't* the ones who distribute them. I'm not saying there aren't people who don't do this, but it's kind of a PITA for those who write and distribute such work (for generally nothing other than the spread of knowledge, think open-source) to be hit with such infamous blame.

Originally Posted by Queatrix

Still, making a virus and infecting someone with it, is no benifit to the infector.
Only to the Anti-Virus companys.

Kinda makes you think don't it? When we get slammed by these new and improved internet worms that infect thousands of computers and then come the Anti-Virus companies to the rescue.... hmmmmmm

I must say I had a fascination with them when I started programming - I was young so it had nothing to do with the engineering side of things, I just wanted to mix it up

Now, though, it'd be interesting to see what I can do to my old dusty half-dead ('net disconnected) box if I manage to dig the bookmarks out of the gazillion I've got. I feel I have a firmer understand of assembly and my machine, so could make better use of the material.

Time to fiddle, perhaps. I'm on the verge of ditching my current game engine project anyhow.

I too have always found them fascinating. I've never wanted to use one on someone or my school or whatever =P

But to almost watch it, on a crappy old computer or something, watch it's life cycle as it lives, does what it is programmed to do, reproduces (maybe, depends on the virus), and with a little help from an anti-virus program, dies =P

I always thought, and still do think, they're very interesting programs.

Exactly!

The best way to understand something is to get inside it and know how it works, what it does, etc. Besides its perfectly legal to write even the most dangerous of viruses, so long as you don't employ it on any machine that you don't own or have permission on.

That course sounds so interesting, i'll have to see if the colleges i want to go to have somethin like that. I know Hopkins has a lab where they let computers sit, unprotected for years (and still do) and the amount of malware they got was incredible! If your interested visit www.jhu.edu and go to the engineering school homepage and read their magazine. Very interesting article

Kinda makes you think don't it? When we get slammed by these new and improved internet worms that infect thousands of computers and then come the Anti-Virus companies to the rescue.... hmmmmmm

lol...my thoughts exactly!

who knows....maybe the AV companies write these malicious program to stay in business?

hehe....

or pay someone to

Originally Posted by Mad_guy

Back when I was a big VX onlooker a couple years ago, I noticed something pretty quickly: most of the people who write those viruses don't do it for malicious purposes. If you look at some famed works by ones such as Z0MBiE, GriYo and the like (google it,) you'll notice a lot of their works are simply proof-of-concepts.
They're generally made to prove a point rather than screw you over, which is why many viruses distributed amongst the VX scenes these days also have source code many times, and in many cases cases, people write papers over their viruses (google "vx 29a".) The authors generally attach non-liability clauses to their released code (naturally,) and I can bet you in just about every case, the authors aren't the ones who release the virus anyway.

In plenty of cases, the people who write viruses and the like *aren't* the ones who distribute them. I'm not saying there aren't people who don't do this, but it's kind of a PITA for those who write and distribute such work (for generally nothing other than the spread of knowledge, think open-source) to be hit with such infamous blame.

And yes i agree completely, 29A and those VXers wrote some new and interesting programs with no harmful payloads. They are actually very Opposed to people who use the programs coupled with harmful payloads.