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«CARO's Undisclosed Meeting Agenda» (0) 9.12Kb 5535 hits
Nuke Info Journal [7] (1993)

By now, most of us have seen this particular document and have either accepted it as factual or shrugged it off as a hoax. Regardless of your viewpoint, there are still a few items of interest, and their implications, that I wanted to address. Initially, I wanted to do this wonderful spill on the legal aspects of cartels and collusion, but since this particular item cannot be substantiated as being 100% legitimate, I prefer to avoid any possible legal responses that may be incurred by doing so. I will therefore attempt to define some of the more relevant issues and let you be the judge.

«The urge of creation» (0) 9.43Kb 5799 hits
Xine [5] (2001)

[...] I just read AVP's description about who writes computer viruses, and I got pissed of. I don't like the way he's smearing the virus coders. I mean not all of us are mentaly sick and weak individuals who needs virus writing because of inferior complexes! It's much more complex then that tihi :) and that's what this article is about. It hasn't anything to do with virus coding, but in a sense it's all about virus coding. What is the universal affinity for all virus coders? I can't say that I know for sure but I think I have a clue about the mental state that drives people to code virus, and for sure it has nothing to do with mental sickness (unless you consider thinking viral thoughts to be defined as sick). With my "not-so-flaw-less" english and this abstract topic this could turn into a real mess, but I hope you will follow some how. As there have been a numerous amount of diffrent articles covering stereotypes of virus coders I won't fall into this category (I'm the master of korny comments :) ). [...]

«Painting the Internet: A Different Kind of Warhol Worm» (0) 25.38Kb 34198 hits
(2006)

Some people have argued that software is artistic. If so, what about malware?Only occasional, small-scale attempts have been made to create art using malware. We present "art worms," worms which allow an artist to use the entire Internet as a canvas. These worms could be interactive, allowing an artist to stage a global performance, or non-interactive and automatic. Examples are given of artworks that could result from these worms. Art worms raise a variety of questions about the very nature of art: what constitutes art? must art be seen in order to exist? should art be destroyed?Two major technical aspects of art worms are communication and geolocation. Both aspects ensure that art worms behave correctly to create an overall picture. We look at a number of ways that malware can perform these tasks, which have broader applications to malware targeted at specific countries for the purposes of terrorism or information warfare.

«Viruses 101» (0) 25.93Kb 6876 hits
SIGCSE'05, February 23-27, 2005, St. Louis, Missouri, USA., pp.152-156 (2005)

The University of Calgary introduced a controversial course in the fall of 2003 on computer viruses and malware. The primary objection about this course from the anti-virus community was that students were being taught how to create viruses in addition to defending against them. Unfortunately, the reaction to our course was based on a dearth of information, which we remedy in this paper by describing key pedagogical elements of the course.

«Hypervirus: A Clinical Report» (0) 44.81Kb 6197 hits
1000 DAYS OF THEORY (2006)

At the dawn of capitalism's fourth phase, the hypervirus awoke. Poisonous parasite, undead, ubiquitous and omnipotent.

«Catch Me If You Can» (0) 7.95Kb 2057 hits
Communications of the ACM, vol. 54, no. 3, pp.112,111 (2011)

I envisioned and wrote the first computer virus in 1969 but failed to see that viruses would become widespread. Technologies don't always evolve as we'd like. I learned this then but failed to catch the train I knew, even then, would soon leave the station.

«Generally about VX scene (from the psychedelic point of view)» (0) 4.83Kb 4941 hits
29a [5] (2001)

Another stoned article about vx scene? Yep, the second one :-) To beginnerz I still have something to say. I really l0ve vx scene, becoz it bringz to my life many happy momentz...

«Situation in VX scene» (0) 10.05Kb 7633 hits
29a [6] (2002)

Many ppl that watch a bit the VX scene figured out that something's wrong. The scene and many thingz inside it ain't no more what it used to be. Some coderz talk about "dying", "decadency", some of them talk at least about really serious problemz. What happened? Old, elite and active coderz leave or only stop contributing to the scene. Script kiddiez and their so called "viruses/wormz" rule the cyberworld. Suddenly it's very problem to find new, perspective coderz. Many VX groupz are dead or inactive. AVerz earnz money from ppl that are becoz of their 99,99% stupidity responsible for big viral epidemiez (aka "click-on-me" wormz). Where are those elite coderz, elite groupz? Where are those high-tech viruses which "yesterday" ruled the world? Decandency. What reasonz caused this situation?

«Some human dimensions of computer virus creation and infection» (0) 52.33Kb 7531 hits
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, (2000) 52, pp.899-913 (2000)

Infection of computer systems by destructive computer viruses is a commonplace occurrence. Consequently, an extensive literature exists concerning the technical means of virus prevention, detection and disinfection. By contrast, in this paper we consider the human dimensions and implications behind the invention and release of computer viruses. We examine and discuss some possible conscious motivations: these include political, commercial and malicious. However, the paper is also concerned with unconscious motivations and goes on to look at possible meanings for these disruptive activities from within a psychodynamic framework based on the work of Melanie Klein. The paper draws upon previously published information about viruses and their makers in order to furnish material for these discussions. Of equal import in understanding the effect that virus infection has upon computer users. A personal anecdote illustrates the disruption to peace of mind brought about simply by the fear of virus infection. We conclude that virus creation means different things for different perpetrators, but that generally it is a destructive act aimed at dismantling what is apparently 'whole' and satisfactory. This reflects the reality that human life involves a constant struggle with processes of destructiveness as well as creativity. Paradoxically, the orderly, constructed world may become stronger through the process of learning and defending against each new virus, but this strengthening of defences may itself inflame the problem. We conclude by considering some concrete consequences for computer users, and areas for future investigation.

«A Plague of Viruses: Biological, Computer and Marketing» (0) 49.27Kb 7139 hits
Current Sociology, Vol. 49, No. 6, 39-55 (2001)

The article analyses the transfer of biological, computer and marketing viruses. Despite differences between these three types of viruses, network structure affects their spread in similar ways. The authors distinguish between two forms of networks - densely knit and ramified - and show that biological, computer and marketing viruses all behave in similar ways depending on the form of network. Densely knit networks promote the quick dissemination of a virus, and increase the odds that many of the members will become infected. Ramified networks allow a virus to disperse widely, jumping between different milieux. In the end, the spread of viruses in the real world involves a combination of both densely knit and ramified networks, which the authors call ‘glocalization’.

«The Bulgarian and Soviet Virus Factories» (0) 56.56Kb 7256 hits
(1991)

It is now well known that Bulgaria is leader in computer virus production and the USSR is following closely. This paper tries to answer the main questions: Who makes viruses there, What viruses are made, and Why this is done. It also underlines the impact of this process on the West, as well as on the national software industry.

«Should We Teach Virus Writing?» (0) 47.25Kb 7842 hits
6th Association of anti Virus Asia Researchers Conference (AVAR 2003), 2003. 15pp. (2003)

In late spring 2003, Prof. Ken Barker, head of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Calgary decided that, as part of a set of courses on Computer Security, his students had to be taught how to write viruses. He even went as far as widely advertising this idea of his on the Web and seems firmly convinced to implement it, despite the uniformly negative feedback he has received from the professionals in this field. This paper examines in details everything that is wrong with the particular proposal, as well as with the general idea of teaching students how to write viruses and other malicious code. Finally, we propose some ideas how to educate students properly on this subject.

«The metamorphosis of malware writers» (0) 10.22Kb 4079 hits
Computers & Security, Volume: 25, Issue: 2 pp.89-90 (2006)

The reasons for writing malware are changing – and so is the malware itself. Danny Bradbury reports on the development of a seedy commercial market.

«Marginal Networks: The Virus between Complexity and Suppression» (0) 45.48Kb 6711 hits
Fibreculture Journal Issue 4 - contagion and the diseases of information (2005)

In a recent article, Sampson suggested that the metaphoric relocation of the contagious properties of biological viruses into viral technologies has produced the assumption that computer viruses are "imbued with an alien otherness" (Sampson, 2004). However, it is arguable that such alterity can be ascribed to all viruses, as long as they are analysed as cultural notions or as discursive forms instead of being forced within clearly defined disciplinary boundaries, and being classified as separate and incompatible entities, organisms, or mere strings of code. Suspended between life and death, myth and reality, abstract and concrete, viruses are perfect candidate for the champions of marginality.

«Scary Networks? Viruses as Discursive Practice» (0) 19.83Kb 5300 hits
Fibreculture Journal Issue 4 - contagion and the diseases of information (2005)

«Viruses: That Intricate Yarn» (0) 35.78Kb 3825 hits
Digipopo/Public 31, 2005. (2005)

In Part 1 of Greg Bear's science fiction novel “Darwin’s Children,” Kaye Rafelson, a scientist, virologist, and mother of a so-called “virus child” (a child born through a pregnancy induced by the SHEVA virus and therefore a mutant, a freak, a potentially dangerous creature) is reviewing a paper where she tries not only to demystify the myths and prejudices about viruses, but also to suggest and demonstrate their utility and necessity for the evolution of human beings and the emergence of new species on earth:

«The motivation behind computer viruses» (0) 35.18Kb 8103 hits
(2005)

Viruses, either helpful or damaging, are conceived by their authors for many differing reasons. Whether for academic reasons, money, fame, protection, or just an attempt to illegally gain access to unauthorized information, all computer viruses bring with them side effects that are typically damaging. By exploring these motivations and studying the impacts of various viruses, it is possible to gain insight into the not so evident reasons for their creation as well as what side effects have occurred as a result of their release.

«Dialogues with AVs» (0) 20.95Kb 5131 hits

«Ethical Issues in Computer Virus Distribution» (0) 5.17Kb 1790 hits
Computers & Security, 7 (1988) 335-336 (1988)

When I first examined the problem of viruses, I had a severe ethical problem with publishing my results. The problem was that if I published actual viruses, I would be creating a hazard for the computing world, while if I did not publish some sort of program example, the subject would be too hard to understand to get the point across. After thinking about the issue for some time, I decided to publish "pseudo-code" which could not be used directly by an attacker against any particular system, but which would indicate to the reader the nature of the problem.

«Language, a virus?» (0) 13.17Kb 4978 hits
(2002)

The history of computer viruses in the arts could thus be told the other way around. – Not only as poetic and aesthetic appropriations of virus code, as they recur in Net.art and digital poetry since circa 1997 (see Jutta Steidl’s essay “If() Then()” in this catalogue), but as a language-speculative impregnation and pervasion of computer viruses since they were invented. The possible influences on these speculations are abundant: the cognitive nihilist Henry Flynts whose project to refute analytical philosophy – and anything else – with its own methods had influenced some Neoists; the Deleuze/Guattari volume “On the Line” published in 1983 by Semiotext(e) New York states that “our viruses make us form a rhizome with other creatures;“ the biologist Richard Dawkins is controversial for his theory of the “meme” as a contagious idea which he first published in 1976 7; but more than anybody else, the novelist William S. Burroughs is interesting here. Created with radical collage techniques, his hallucinatory spy novel prose translated writing styles of the modernist avant-garde (predominantly the French surrealism mediated through his friend Brion Gysin) into pop literature. But even importantly, his speculations on language and technology had a striking impact on subcultural currents and thinking in the 1980s. 8 For Burroughs, the relationship between viruses and language amounted to more than just the idea that viruses could be created in language or – like in Dawkins’ “memetics” – that certain speech acts had contagious effects. For him, language itself was a virus

«Viruses of the Mind» (0) 49.99Kb 4377 hits
Free Inquiry, Summer 1993, pp.34-41 (1993)

«Virus Censorship» (0) 7.67Kb 3527 hits
40hex [11] (1993)

Recently in the comp.virus echo of Usenet there was a discussion entitled "40 Hex Censorship". A few people were complaining about this magazine being censored by the anti-virus community, and on Internet itself. I found this thread interesting, and figured I'd voice my opinions on it here, where it counts.

«VX: What the Hell's happened?» (0) 6.91Kb 5691 hits
40hex [9] (1992)

1991: The virus scene was almost nonexistent. A handful of virus boards populated the earth, the biggest being the Virus Exchange in Bulgaria. In the US, only a very few boards had viruses.. and those which did all had less than 100. If you had 80 viruses back then, you were God. Today, just one year later, if you have less than 800 you're lame. Viruses are everywhere. Unfortunately, almost none of them are original. They're all hacks of hacks of hacks of hacks, or else all cranked out by MPC or VCL, the 2 virus generation programs in mass distribution. No one (save a few) writes original code anymore. The recent flood of lame viruses all prove that. MPC and VCL account for over half of the "new" viruses released each day - and all the viruses generated by those programs are scannable before they even get compiled. So why do people keep using the programs? Why create 30 viruses which all do the same thing, except maybe on a different day, or using a different text string? Why? I'll tell you why. Because the kids using MPC and VCL are basically talentless programmers who think it's cool to stick their name in a program and pass it around. They believe they'll achieve god-like fame in the underground by creating these little clones and changing a few bytes. Are these people cool? Hardly. It takes true talent to create a virus. It takes brains and skill to write a virus which will work as planned, avoid detection, and propagate itself. The authors of MPC and VCL are very talented programmers. Unfortunately, the users of their programs are just the opposite. Real virus programmers have a desire to learn assembler - it's a test of their skill and ability. The users of MPC and VCL don't have that desire. They only have a desire for recognition - and seeing their name in a virus is a massive ego trip for them. Why? They did nothing that any Joe Blow couldn't have done using a code generator. If they really want to prove how cool they are, let them write a damn virus generation program and release it. That alone show the world their skill and ability. As for using the program, well, I'm more impressed with a nicely formatted term paper using WordPerfect than I am with viruses created using MPC and VCL. If you're one of the lame idiots who uses MPC or VCL for "writing" viruses, then listen up - those programs were written for 2 reasons - to prove the programmer could write such a thing, and to be used as a learning tool for future virus writers - not to be abused the way they currently are. Stop acting lame and actually create an original virus for once, people! And if you find that's impossible, then get the hell out of the scene and let the people who can program do it!

«Is virus writing really that bad?» (0) 23.87Kb 7079 hits
Fourth Anti-Virus Asia Researchers (AVAR) Conference 2001 Hong Kong - November 2001 (2004)

In a world in which some anti-virus companies regularly overstate the risks posed by individual viruses in order to hype up the threat, it can be hard to judge the seriousness of the problem. So this paper tries to answer the question `is virus writing really that bad?' with a balanced view of the situation. Even though some of the socalled good guys come in for firm criticism, we conclude that the answer is a very definite yes.

«Computer Viruses: Why writing and making available a computer virus is not a crime» (0) 5.37Kb 7265 hits
(2007)

I've been doing some research on computer viruses in the past few weeks. They've always intrigued me, not only computer viruses but also biological viruses. Unfortunately when I search the web and look in books I find a lot of negativity towards them. [...]

«The Virtual Artaud: Computer Virus as Performance Art» (0) 26.01Kb 6336 hits
Extensions: The Online Journal of Embodied Technology, vol. 2, pp.65-73 (2005)

The computer virus is often termed a malicious threat to personal privacy, security, and system integrity by companies such as McAfee, Symantec, and Norton; yet, how would we categorize such a virus if it were scripted as a performance-art piece? In June of 2001, two performance art groups collaborated to script a computer virus-as-performance-art and launched it at the 49th Venice Biennale. The performance-virus, named Biennale.py, was launched from the Slovenian Pavilion on the opening day of the exhibition.

«Establishing ethics in the computer virus arena» (0) 12.21Kb 6363 hits
(1992)

The introduction of the computer into our already complex arsenal of tools has opened a door to a world in which the limits are seemingly boundless. The possibilities of electronic information and data exchange alone are enough to boggle the mind. However, with the computer's acceptance and its growing implementation, a debate has arisen concerning the manner in which it is being utilized.Today, we have a virtual stone wall separating two basic trains of thought. On one hand, there are those who wish to make all computer information and resources publicly available, regardless of impact or damage afforded to unwitting users. On the other hand, we have computer professionals, advocates and users who think potentially damaging information should be more effectively managed and controlled, disallowing damaging code to escape into the public domain.

«Echoes of Conspiracy» (0) 8.6Kb 5051 hits
Chiba City Blues [1] (1994)

You have no idea how many times this week I have been asked "Is John Buchanon a narc?" Well I cannot really say honestly yes or no to anyone who has asked this question. The only thing I can offer the readers & friends is the opportunity to see for themselves all the information and let each and everyone decide for themselves what is truth and what is false.

«Why Viruses Are and Always will be a Problem» (0) 12.19Kb 4658 hits
NCSA News, pages 5–7 (1996)

Many people seem to believe that the virus threat can be held at bay by simply buying the latest and greatest scanner, holding on tight to one's security policy, and cleaning up when the inevitable happens. To all intents and purposes, the virus problem is solved, and the new challenge of the Internet beckons to MIS staff worldwide. Right? Wrong.

«Morality and Technology, or Is it Wrong to Create and Let Loose a Computer Virus» (0) 57.67Kb 4109 hits
Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - 1995 (1995)

Stories about computer-related action (e.g., placing a document about how a computer virus works on an electronic network/bulletin board) were presented to users. Data indicate that women end-users compared to men have a less libetiarian sense of what is right and wrong; as well, younger respondents are more libertarian than their older compatriots. Data also indicate that participants are less likely to endorse civil liberties and more concerned about the harm and violations of social norms when the scenario desrribes a context-specific situation. Researchers and policy makers may be concerned about how to maintain and protect the privacy of individuals, and at the same time ensure moral conduct by end-users who enjoy using the electronic highway. Suggestions are made for developing theoretical models of moral judgment in the cyberspace domain.

«The Asexual Virus: Computer Viruses in Feminist Discourse» (0) 59.87Kb 6594 hits
Law and Critique, Volume 13, Number 2 (2002)

Feminist work on computing technology has for the most part concentrated on concepts of cyborgs and notions of (dis)embodiment in cyberspace. It is the contention of this paper that, as yet, these conceptions have, outstripped the realities of the technology and that an alternative and technically realistic model is that of the computer virus. The virus has all the positive theoretical advantages of the cyborg, as well as the added benefits of being in existence now as opposed to the product of science fiction, and viruses may be capable of use as a tool for education and activism. Thus, this paper shall examine the limitations of current cyberfeminism, and the range of possibilities viral hacktavistic feminism opens up.

«DarkMarket: cyberthieves, cybercops and you» (0) 521.51Kb 237 hits
Knopf (2011)

"This extraordinarily powerful book demonstrates how utterly we lack the shared supranational tools needed to fight cybercrime. Essential reading." --Roberto Saviano, author of GommorahThe benefits of living in a digital, globalized society are enormous; so too are the dangers. The world has become a law enforcer’s nightmare and every criminal’s dream. We bank online; shop online; date, learn, work and live online. But have the institutions that keep us safe on the streets learned to protect us in the burgeoning digital world? Have we become complacent about our personal security—sharing our thoughts, beliefs and the details of our daily lives with anyone who might care to relieve us of them?In this fascinating and compelling book, Misha Glenny, author of the international best seller McMafia, explores the three fundamental threats facing us in the twenty-first century: cybercrime, cyberwarfare and cyberindustrial espionage. Governments and the private sector are losing billions of dollars each year fighting an ever-morphing, often invisible and often supersmart new breed of criminal: the hacker.Glenny has traveled and trawled the world. By exploring the rise and fall of the criminal website DarkMarket he has uncovered the most vivid, alarming and illuminating stories. Whether JiLsi or Matrix, Iceman, Master Splynter or Lord Cyric; whether Detective Sergeant Chris Dawson in Scunthorpe, England, or Agent Keith Mularski in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Glenny has tracked down and interviewed all the players—the criminals, the geeks, the police, the security experts and the victims—and he places everyone and everything in a rich brew of politics, economics and history.The result is simply unputdownable. DarkMarket is authoritative and completely engrossing. It’s a must-read for everyone who uses a computer: the essential crime book for our times.

«The Generic Virus Writer» (0) 49.7Kb 7205 hits
The 4th International Virus Bulletin Conference, Jersey, UK (1994)

This paper presents four case studies of individuals involved in virus writing. The research was conducted by using surveys, and by conducting interviews via e-mail (electronic mail), electronic chat and in-person sessions. Ethnographic and demographic data were collected, as well as information relating to how the individuals view their relationships to their peers and to society in general. Some data relating to cognitive reasoning abilities was collected. This data was used to examine the individuals' moral development in light of ethical and moral developmental models based on the research of Lawrence Kohlberg. Gender based issues in virus writing are examined using the model developed by Gilligan [1].

«The Generic Virus Writer II» (0) 44.2Kb 4305 hits
The 6th International Virus Bulletin Conference, Brighton, UK (1996)

A brief summary of research on the ethical development of four individuals involved in the virus writing subculture is given, followed by an examination of the current virus writing "scene". A completely different type of virus writer is introduced. Recent developments, trends and forecasts are presented, and some suggestions for minimizing the impact of virus writers both globally and organizationally are considered.

«Technologically Enabled Crime: Shifting Paradigms for the Year 2000» (0) 54.77Kb 5410 hits
Computers and Security magazine (1994)

This paper will consider the social and ethical factors involved in the transmission of computer viruses and other malicious software. In addition to the people, we will consider the part the systems and technology play in the spread of this sort of data. We will draw parallels with one of the more well known scientific paradigms, the medical one, and note the similarities with the problems we now face. We will describe the evolution of methods of virus distribution: virus exchange bulletin boards, virus exchange networks, distribution sites, robots/servers, and books. The paper will discuss viruses for sale and make some comparisons between distribution of computer viruses and the distribution methods of "hacking tools". Other issues examined in this paper include the characteristics of individuals involved in the distribution of these types of programs, and problems of legal redress, as well as possible solutions based on ethics and ethical theory.

«Virus Writers: The End of The Innocence?» (0) 65.45Kb 6500 hits
(2000)

Earlier research has empirically demonstrated the cyclic nature of virus writing activity: as virus writers "age out", new virus writers take their places. Enhanced connectivity amplifies the existing problem and various technical factors result in new types of virus writers surfacing as the cycle repeats.However, a new variable has recently been introduced into the cycle: high profile legal intervention. The virus writing community now has experienced visits by concerned law enforcement personnel; there have been arrests and there will be sentencings. New laws are being considered, enacted, and acted upon. Thus, the virus writing scene is no longer a casual pastime of kids on local Bulletin Board Systems.What has been the impact, perceptually and operationally, of these visits, arrests, and sentencings? In other words, as the virus problem gets more and more "real world" attention, where are we actually going in terms of shaping acceptable behavior in our virtual communities and what, if any, effect are these legal interventions having on the impact of viruses upon user's computers?In order to produce a scientifically meaningful answer to this question, pre and post intervention data on various aspects of the virus problem have been gathered. We solicited opinions on a variety of topics related to computer viruses and legal countermeasures via e-mail and direct survey. Opinions are not only interesting; they must be considered, as we know the opinions of today shape how people behave in the future.However, we are also concerned with immediate real-world impact. To this end, impact will be examined in terms of viruses found both In the Wild (ItW) and on the World Wide Web (WWW), as a function of time. The data gathered before and after various types of high profile intervention is considered; in particular we are interested in any decrease noted in the graph of virus growth both ItW and on the WWW, and in online references to legal concerns.An analysis of the data is presented and suggestions for future research are made.

«Why Computer Viruses Are Not And Never Were A Problem» (0) 33.98Kb 6658 hits
EICAR '94 Conference in St. Albans, United Kingdom (1994)

Computer viruses are not a problem. At least, that is what one would believe if he or she listened to various security experts, lawyers, and anti-virus product developers. For instance, at a well-known conference held in the United States last year, one of the legal tracks was promoted as featuring information about viruses. Attendees at the session were informed that viruses were mainly a matter of a few guys in Bulgaria trying to outdo one another -- not a real problem.

«When Worlds Collide: Information Sharing for the Security and Anti-virus Communities» (0) 50.54Kb 4591 hits
Virus Bulletin Conference. Vancouver, British Columbia. (1999)

Current trends towards anti-malware software, designed to provide protection from network-aware Trojans, viruses and various forms of malicious active content are bringing the mainstream anti-virus world closer to the more general information security world. At the same time, as information security researchers and professionals begin to investigate the various types of threats posed by active content, we are observing a significant increase in the overlap in areas of influence and interest. While this cross-pollination provides an exciting new source for ideas and innovation, it also poses some novel challenges in terms of differences in mindsets and skill sets. For various reasons, researchers may not be aware of some of these differences. One of the most critical differences, and one that must be rationalized for a successful integration of the two worlds, concerns Information Sharing. In this paper, issues related to diametrically opposed positions regarding information sharing are examined; the reasons why each of these positions has evolved are discussed. Dangers of ignoring the current conflicts are considered, and proposed research that would facilitate the assimilation of the two current paradigms possible is provided. As the worlds of "anti-virus" and "computer security" collide, finding a way for the two groups to work together effectively is paramount if both are to work together toward the common goal of protecting the user.

«Convergence of Virus Writers and Hackers: Fact or Fantasy?» (0) 41.49Kb 7258 hits
Symantec Security Response (2003)

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is one of the most influential and popular conceptual frameworks used to predict human behavior. In this paper, the authors utilize TPB to define a methodology for examining the ethical belief systems of hackers and for deriving predictors of their behaviors. While related research has been carried out on the psychology of virus writers, research on hackers has not been as well-covered. Thus, these findings, when compared and contrasted with empirical research on virus writers, offer the reader the first scientifically modeled insight on the psychological convergence (or lack thereof) in the communities. The analysis of these results will eventually allow comparison between the two subject groups, focusing on cognitive factors such as personal obligation, social pressure, and self-control. Findings will consider the expected effectiveness of varied deterrent and educational techniques, as well as offer insight for public policy, legislation, and educational efforts.

«Flexible Infections: Computer Viruses, Human Bodies, Nation-States, Evolutionary Capitalism» (0) 59.28Kb 6136 hits
Science, Technology, & Human Values, Vol. 25 No. 4, Autumn 2000, pp.472-491 (2000)

This article analyzes computer security rhetoric, particularly in the United States, arguing that dominant cultural understandings of immunology, sexuality, legality, citizenship, and capitalism powerfully shape the way computer viruses are construed and combated. Drawing on popular and technical handbooks, articles, and Web sites, as well as on e-mail interviews with security professionals, the author explores how discussions of computer viruses lean on analogies from immunology and in the process often encode popular anxieties about AIDS. Computer security rhetoric about compromised networks also uses language reminiscent of that used to describe the "bodies" of nation-states under military threat from without and within. Such language portrays viruses using images of foreignness, illegality, and otherness. The security response to viruses advocates the virtues of the flexible and adaptive response - a rhetoric that depends on evolutionary language but also on the ideological idiom of advanced capitalism.

«The Halftime Ass-chewing» (0) 3.65Kb 5146 hits
CodeBreakers [1] (1997)

WARNING: If you are learning how to write virii just to gain a better understanding of programming and computer operations (which is a perfectly good reason), turn back now. Don't read this article! It does not apply to your goals

«Viral Bodies, Virtual Practices» (0) 30.72Kb 4565 hits
Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp.18-27 (2001)

This essay examines the narrative tropes of recent films construed upon the imagined threats that viruses inflict on nation, community, and body. The tropes lend themselves to an investigation of the possible links between discourses of health and immunity and those about network technologies. Additionally, these tropes need to be contextualised within the circumstances of their emergence (the AIDS epidemic and the social and epistemological reconfigurations triggered by network technologies) and the larger history of science - if productive connections between cybernetics and popular culture, experts and laymen are to be obtained. Three main narrative strategies resonating with the paradigms that shaped science and cybernetics in the last 50 years emerge in these films. Addressing pressing issues such as the security of the body and the nation state, the trope of contamination condenses overall fears of losing control over clearly established boundaries. Firstly, Outbreak (Wolfgang Peterson, USA, 1995) recalls an earlier homeostatic model which is narratively reconfigured within complex system theory. Earlier strategies deployed to contain the polio epidemic as the major threat to public health in the 1940s and 1950s reappear in this film enforcing quarantine and focusing on body fluids and openings as entryways for disease. Borrowing from popular conspiracy theories the onset of AIDS in the destruction of natural ecosystems in Africa - proposing this particular virus as a more destructive strain of the HIV - Outbreak stages a devastating viral spread resulting from an interdependent global economy. The preposterous military efforts to eradicate it betray alarm at the prospect of losing jurisdiction over national boundaries. Moreover, this anxiety can be equated to a kind of semiotic xenophobia that wishes to remove from the communication exchange elements that pollute its logic and linearity - an anxiety shared with the champions of the homeostatic model in the aftermath of the Second World War. Nonetheless, this strategy of containment is altogether enunciated and resisted within the plane of the story since effectively stopping the spread entails acknowledging the futility of holding onto a Cold War, protectionist framework and shifting instead to one held by communication and feedback - where the body is perceived as capable of tailoring incommensurably diversified and specific responses to the challenges presented by its environment.

«Future visions about virus writing» (0) 2.16Kb 5141 hits
Best of RRLF (2008)

If you reading this text, it's means you are here not simply so, you came in this world to achieve something, don't you? If so, then why you only reading and do nothing to achieve something? Do you want fame? Then "vx scene" is right place for you. Why? If you don't know the answer, it's means you don't know what is "vx scene".

«Why Viruses are necessary» (0) 3.7Kb 5301 hits
CodeBreakers [5] (1999)

There are many people who consider the release of Viruses to be an irresponsible and inexcusable act. While I do not condone the release of viruses, there are strong arguments for the existence of viruses that pertains to the natural flow of information.

«Technological Turf Wars: A Case Study of the Computer Antivirus Industry» (0) 485.43Kb 3799 hits
Temple University Press (2009)

In Technological Turf Wars, Jessica Johnston analyzes the tensions and political dilemmas that coexist in the interrelationship among science, technology and society. Illustrating how computer security is as concerned with social relationships as it is with technology, Johnston provides an illuminating ethnography that considers corporate culture and the workplace environment of the antivirus industry.Using a qualitative, interdisciplinary approach, which combines organizational and security studies with critical and social analysis of science and technology, Johnston questions the motivations, contradictions and negotiations of antivirus professionals. She examines the tensions between the service ethics and profit motives—does the industry release viruses to generate demand for antivirus software?—and considers the dynamics within companies by looking at facets such as gender bias and power politics. Technological Turf Wars is an informed, enlightened and entertaining view of how the production of computer security technology is fraught with social issues.

«The protector scene» (0) 3.22Kb 4828 hits
Coderz [1] (2000)

There are many sub-cultures in the computer world: hackers, demo-coders, musicians, graphicans, virusauthors, crackers. And there's also a not so well knows scene: the protector-scene.

«Not teaching viruses and worms is harmful» (0) 4.67Kb 5393 hits
Communications of the ACM, Volume 48, Number 1 (2005), Page 144 (2005)

Computer security courses are typically of two kinds. Most are of the first kind: guided tours to concepts and terminology, descriptive courses that inform and acquaint. These courses have few or no prerequisites and little technical content. The second kind of computer security courses is taken primarily by computer science majors. Usually elective courses, they offer a technical menu, often focused on cryptography. Systems, access control models, protocols, policies, and other topics tend to get less coverage.A critically important topic, viruses and worms, gets the least coverage. Anecdotal and historical information about them may be presented, but source code discussions are rare and programming a virus or worm and their antidotes is seldom required. Not too long ago, crypto was a taboo topic subject to government controls. Developments, such as PGP, helped remove these prohibitions, and serious academic research is now routine. Virus and worm programming should likewise be mainstreamed as a research activity open to students. As previously with crypto, there are barriers to overcome.

«The Impact of Computer Viruses on Society» (0) 8.4Kb 9571 hits
Computers & Society, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 9-12 (1989)

Computer viruses have recently drawn a lot of attention because of some spectacular examples of their power of disruption. This paper discusses the impact of computer viruses on different sectors of the society. Four important perspectives of society will be discussed here [...]

«Infecting People - A Moral Issue?» (0) 12.16Kb 4522 hits
Insane Reality Magazine [8] (1996)

This article seems to be a collection of Liquid Jesus's philosophies about viruses in general, and delves into more then the title would indicate. Those who are saying 'What?? no code???' and are about to skip on to the next article, are depriving themselves of an interesting read. (Sepultura)

«Perusing The Virus Author Mentality» (0) 10.98Kb 5456 hits
VX-tasy [1] (1999)

It's been three years since my first encounter with the virus programming field and I have to say that, from the information gathering point of view, from the understanding point of view and from the point of view of the research itself, they were three magnificent years. As a beginner I stumbled over tutorials, vx magazines and virus sources once I got myself hooked to the Internet... After that, it was just a small step. As a virus writter I cannot say I was successful, because I wasnt. Maybe the main thing beyond my viral activity incognaisance is the fact that I really, really get bored so quicly. Once I manage to reach a certain goal, I cannot be bothered to make all the banalities in order to make it a complete virus. That's why I mainly decided to write tutorials and include there the most part of my knoledge and ideas. However, I found myself at a certain point, wondering why was I really doing this? This is how this article emerged, an article in which I will try to peruse the motivation behind the virus writer and to point out a trend for a virus writer's activity. I would be so glad to receive any ideas on this issue (after you read this...) on my e-mail address (lordjulus@geocities.com) in order to make the best virus author portret. Thanx.

«Some stuff» (0) 8.67Kb 3116 hits
VX-tasy [1] (1999)

I named this article 'some stuff' mainly because... well that's what it is... Firstly I wanted to name it some news, but then I realized that I have no time to gather 'new' news, or even so, those news would be already old, so I gave up... Also, what I wanted to say here is notoriety already and thus, no news...

«Windows - where?» (0) 5.85Kb 3552 hits
VX-tasy [1] (1999)

Windows(C)(TM)(R)(ETC...) is something which seems to be making most of the people feel nausea. Why? I will try to explain this using my own feelings towards the thing.

«Panic computing: The viral metaphor and computer technology» (0) 39.31Kb 3220 hits
Cultural Studies, 8:3, pp.556—568

«Ripping Source» (0) 3.25Kb 5200 hits
Vlad #1 (text) (1994)

It has been 3 weeks since you started programming your new virus, you've included features never seen before in the virus world. It feels good to have the extra knowledge. Then you decided to release the source code out of the goodness of your heart for people that were once like you to learn and become competent virus writers.Well that's about as far as it gets, because that's when you start to see copies of your virus with other peoples names in them. The same source, perhaps a piece of destructive code that wasn't there when you last looked but the same virus. The feeling of goodness goes away rather fast.

«Blindingly» (0) 8.33Kb 4957 hits
(1999)

A short story in response to Richard Smith's (of PHARLAP) article about tracking down the author of Melissa.

«How to become the world's richest man» (0) 1.46Kb 5434 hits
Coderz [1] (1999)

'Microsoft are rumoured to have stated that they will use unlimited resources and funds to find the author of the VBS/Monopoly worm...'

«Permission to infect, sir?» (0) 3.38Kb 4573 hits
Final Chaos [1] (1999)

Following various posts in alt.comp.virus I decided to revamp one of my old piece of code that I wrote a while back. It is basically just a snippet that checks for permission to do something before it does, in this case a virus checks for permission to infect other files.

«Why I write viruses (and how not to stop me)» (0) 5.18Kb 5482 hits
Final Chaos [1] (1999)

A brief background for further discussion aimed at those who despise virus authors and/or think it is immoral to write viruses.

«My Thought on the Proposed Legislation to make Virus Code Illegal in the U.S.A.» (0) 5.78Kb 5494 hits
C.R.I.S [1] (1993)

OK, I'll try to be brief here.... From the above we receive our "rights" of Freedom of Speech, The Right to Bear Arms,The Right to be secure in our personal spaces and not to have to put up with illegal search and seizure, We are also assured that our personal property will not be taken without due process of law. That being said, why should anyone have the right to tell another what type of code he/she may have on their own personal computer? I understand the laws against software piracy, that's the same as theft, but I do not understand why anyone should be able to tell me that I may not keep virus code on my PC. I know it's been discussed before, but this issue is comparable to our laws on guns. We allow people to own guns for their own personal enjoyment, and for protection. Some perverse individuals use them to kill others, yet we do not tell the rest of the gun owners that they may no longer own them. Some people own viruses for their own personal enjoyment, and also through studying them they contribute to the protection of their systems. It seems to me that we should enact tough legislation against those who use this code to knowingly damage others systems, but those that just want to see what they are capable of, or study them to aid in the prevention of infection, should still be able to legally own and obtain them.

«The Computer Virus Culture» (0) 7.06Kb 5788 hits
(2004)

Relatively speaking, computer viruses are a new and unique phenomenon among computer users. During the beginning of the computer revolution computer security was only a passing concern. The industry was more concerned with 'phreakers', a term given to people who were able to manipulate telephone networks, than with damaging software (Krebs, 2003). Indeed, the idea of a 'computer virus' was not thought of until 1983, when PhD student Fred Cohen coined the term (Krebs, 2003). At the time the term computer virus was used to describe a program that can "affect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a (possibly evolved) copy of itself" (Krebs, 2003).

«No War Machine» (0) 63.77Kb 5150 hits
(1997)

It is part of the paradoxical nature of postmodernism that old categories do not die; instead they stick around, generating influence anxiety. While certain media ecologists once though print might be dead, we now find ourselves in what Jay David Bolter calls "the late age of print" (2). The culture of writing did not vanish apocalyptically in a flash of cathode rays; it has persisted, stubbornly mutating, reappearing on what Donna Haraway calls "etched surfaces of the late twentieth century"(176) -- silicon chips and digital displays. Print is undead. In similar fashion, our current lust for technology, our headlong rush to re-invent and re-engineer everything from government to education to markets to personal relations, revives a certain nostalgic memory from the early twentieth century -- the old dream of revolution, or the myth of a world that could change. Though postmodernism testifies to the impossibility of revolution, the exhaustion of politics, the failure of all grand narratives, it carries at the same time an ironic demand for constant innovation, a requirement of regular paradigm shifts. After all, shouldn't there be something signally important to be done with these "new" technologies? Shouldn't these differences make a difference? For all our cynical sense of ourselves as post-revolutionary, post-apocalyptic, thoroughly belated, we seem to retain a strange, naive investment in the avant garde.

«Why writing viruses?» (0) 3.05Kb 5454 hits
Xine [4] (1999)

The main purpose in life is, i think, to be happy. The question would be then if we have enough time to annoy each other with viriis. I'm not writing to the virus community, explaining why we are right to destroy our neightboor's computer, i don't want to apologize for writing virii, and i don't want victims to excuse us. Some of you, Xers, try to explain that destruction is in nature, so that we are completely right to destroy, but i don't think that the virii purpose is in destruction. I don't agree with destruction, cuz i know how a whole work can stand on a floppy, or on a hard drive, i know that computers are not that cheap, i dunno why men try to destroy, but i suppose it's to feel superior. erm.... wait. If i learn that a virii had burned my mother's hard drives, i would be very annoyed, but if it was the McAffe, i would'nt agree, publicly ;). (So, would the virus 'select' target hard-drives?) I think that virusses are a kind of fight, a fight for fun, no death, no blood, only winners and loosers. I think then that a virus that tell 'Happy birthday' each 25/6 is better than one that tell nothing but destroy everything each 26/5... After funning with that stuff, virii that can be, as ya know, very useful weapons if well-used, can i think be used as that, i mean a weapons. As words some times, but to use a weapons, you must have a conviction, a purpose.

«Notes from the virus Underground...» (0) 29.76Kb 6284 hits
Rolling Stone magazine (1999)

Computer viruses are the terrorist threat of the digital age. The inside story of who creates them and why...

«Where the Coyotes Roamed: The Fall of the Scene» (0) 3.24Kb 5250 hits
Nemesis [1] (1995)

[...] I was recently asked to write a small article about how bad the scene was and this and that. I basically was asked to bitch. Instead I'd prefer to look beyond just how bad things are, and are going to be, and point towards the reasons. [...]

«Protection of Computer Systems from Computer Viruses: Ethical and Practical Issues» (0) 27.57Kb 6561 hits
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Volume 18, Issue 1 (2002)

Computer viruses, worms, and Trojanhorse programs cost individuals, companies and government agencies millions ofdollars every year. Traditional responses have involved use of antiviral software which remove infections or which restrict the transmission of infected communications, and firewalls. The need to rapidly respond to new or threatened attacks has increased the popularity of subscription services which allow users to quickly obtain the most up-to-date antiviral protection. However, unprotected systems canbecome infected and can rapidly propagate that infection to manyother systems. In response, more invasive antiviral agents can be imagined. This paper addresses ethical issues related to the protection of computer systems and delivery of that protection. Five categories in a "Protection MechanismGrid"areproposed. The categories are based upon possible protection deliverymechanisms and the options available to systemowners. The practical and ethical implications of each category are addressed.

«A "Virus Group" or "Viral Warez?"» (0) 2.76Kb 5350 hits
Nuke Info Journal [5] (1993)

As a long-time figure in the virus world, I cannot help but be disgusted by some of the upstart new "virus groups" that have been appearing in the last six months. These so-called virus writers are little more that warez people who like to pass around viruses instead of pirated software. For example, there's one Toronto-based group, who shall remain nameless, which has it's own couriers and ANSI makers. This is sickening. This sweet-potato "virus group" consists of a bunch of geeks who get off on mass-producing lame viruses, then typing up stupid .NFO files remeniscent of INC and sending the package out around their local area. Too cheap to call long-distance, too lame to phreak, these scum are largely confined to Ontario, though they claim to have sites all over the world, which are, of course, PRI-VATE, making them conveniently hard to reach. A good thing, too, since these sites don't exist.

«Rebels for the System? Virus writers, general intellect, cyberpunk and criminal capitalism» (0) 55.55Kb 6343 hits
Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 20(2): 225-241. (2006)

In recent years there have been numerous reports of attacks against computer systems around the world by viruses created by `computer hackers'. It is asserted in the media that the time and energy required to assess and repair the damage caused by this malicious software, sometimes known as `malware', is proving increasingly costly to corporations. The seriousness of the threat posed by rogue computer programmers to the economic system seems to be borne out by actions such as that undertaken by Microsoft in November 2003, when it offered a bounty of $250,000 for information leading to the capture of the authors of the Sobig virus and MSBlast.A worm. In our networked world, nothing, it seems, could be more disruptive than the break-up of the global flows of data resulting from this electronic sabotage. `Hackers' are commonly divided into law-abiding and lawbreaking programmers. This article aims to question whether the distinction is justified, in the context of globalised capitalism. However, for clarity's sake, the terms `virus writers' or `computer intruders' will be used when referring to lawbreaking individuals and groups, and `legitimate hackers' when referring to law-abiding individuals and groups. Yet since all of these individuals and groups share a commitment to autonomy, for example the freedom to access information without restrictions, the term `hacker' will be used when referring indiscriminately to those people who engage in `hacking', the unauthorized or uncontrolled use of computers.Contemporary capitalism's cycles of production and consumption are fuelled by the development of information and communication technology (ICT). Technoscientific progress depends on cooperatively produced knowledge, which Marx called `general intellect'. It would be tempting to portray hackers - highly specialized knowledge workers who rebel against state and corporate authority - as a progressive general intellect, opposed to the economic and social order. This reading would mesh nicely with an understanding, popular amongst contemporary intellectuals, of legitimate hackers as a positive social force, who have been unfairly lumped together with computer vandals in order to disqualify threats to the dominant system, such as free software. My own understanding of hackers, however, is quite different. I do not mean to imply that individual hackers do not feel that they are genuinely resisting dominant norms and values; but I am interested in defining how the economic and social order can accommodate, and, perhaps, coopt this resistance. I start with the premise that hacking is indeed a gesture of defiance. Popular perceptions of hackers as `rebels' have been shaped by many sources, but few have proven as influential as William Gibson's 1980s cyberpunk fiction. Reviewing cyberpunk's economic positioning of hackers - how Gibson's `computer cowboys' fit into the labour market - will inform a reassessment of the socio-economic impact of real-world virus writers and hackers in globalised capitalism.

«Virus Software and the First Amendment» (0) 8.47Kb 4551 hits
http://www.library.gatech.edu/security/virus.htm

Is creating virus software protected as a first amendment right? Should posting virus software at a so-called "hacker" site be considered as "aiding and abetting" the commission of a crime?

«Digital Monsters, Binary Aliens - Computer Viruses, Capitalism and the Flow of Information» (0) 66.47Kb 20143 hits
Fibreculture Journal Issue 4 - contagion and the diseases of information (2005)

Computer worms and viruses are not just technical entities, bits of digital code - they also express central traits of information culture. In a world where production focuses more and more on information instead of goods, an information error registers as a break-up within the system.[1] In capitalism, time is money and so too is information : a malicious piece of computer code seems to be an attack on the very basics of global order. The connection between information capitalism-a well-researched topic in itself-and computer viruses has not, however, been sufficiently explicated.

«The Universal Viral Machine: Bits, Parasites and the Media Ecology of Network Culture» (0) 75.41Kb 5837 hits
1000 Days of Theory: td029 (2005)

During the past few decades, biological creatures like viruses, worms, bugs and bacteria seem to have migrated from their natural habitats to ecologies of silicone and electricity. The media has also been eager to employ these figures of life and monstrosity in representing miniprograms, turning them into digital Godzillas and other mythical monsters. The anxiety these programs produce is largely due to their alleged status as near-living programs, as exemplified in this quote on the Internet worm of 1988

«Viral Noise and the (Dis)Order of the Digital Culture» (0) 15.64Kb 5415 hits
M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture, Volume 7, Issue 6, Jan. 2005 (2005)

«Becoming Positive» (0) 12.41Kb 5783 hits
Festival Ars Electronica (1996)

«Naming your Viruses» (0) 10.2Kb 4516 hits
IR#8 (1996)

Here's an article discussing how to get the AV to name your viruses what you want.. not much more I can say. (Sepultura)

«Computer Viruses and the Human Mind» (0) 39.46Kb 5015 hits
Dynamical Psychology (1997)

Though I don't accept the currently popular description of the human mind as a super-computer, I still think that we can learn something from viewing the computer as one of many possible metaphors for the mind. In this article I intend to explore computer viruses as an extension of that metaphor.

«CARO's Undisclosed Illegal Meeting Agenda» (0) 9.04Kb 5229 hits
Nuke Info Journal [7] (1993)

I've read this paragraph several times over, and I just cannot believe the filth in it. This above paragraph is certainly illegal, according to Canadian and American law. This above paragraph goes against the Privacy Act.

«Screwing People Over the Aristotle Style» (0) 8.22Kb 4669 hits
Nuke Info Journal [8] (1994)

Finally! Finally! Finally! Yes, the long awaited NuKE Informational Journal #8 has finally been released to the general. After three continuous years, roaming the technodrome, this IJ did take a great bang, and pow to release. Can it be the first sign(s) of 'old age'? Perhaps, but it can also be the standard of quality that has been notched up a little.

«To sara gordon Or Not To sara gordon, That Is The Question» (0) 24.72Kb 5816 hits
Nuke Info Journal [7] (1993)

In a previous NuKE Informational Journal (#6), we had published an editorial by Rock Steady concerning the "know-about" and experiences that Rock Steady has encountered with Ms. Sara Gordon. To our surprise [yeah, right], Ms. Gordon denied several statements we had written about her, so we at NuKE asked Sara to write us a response pertaining to that article so we could publish it in the upcoming InfoJournal.

«Hacking Away at the Counterculture» (0) 73.82Kb 5513 hits
Postmodern Culture vol. 1, no. 1 (Sep. 1990). (1990)

«Virus Payloads - History and Payload Mentality» (0) 14.04Kb 3233 hits
DCA E-zine #1 (html) (2004)

Through time, virii had been designed for a purpose. This purpose has been often fullfilled by their payloads,ranging from an annoying system notice to destructive,high damage provoking data losses. One thing is certain: payloads many times are a symbol of the coder's attitude versus virii and regarding coding technique itself. There is no good purpose to format 1000 innocent hdds, neither good purpose to submit your hard study and work to AV, to give them more money.

«The Social Psychology of Computer Viruses and Worms» (0) 51.53Kb 7682 hits
http://www.isoc.org/ (2002)

When the defenders of Troy first saw the Trojan Horse outside their walls, legend has it, the gods on Mount Olympus did not compel them to bring it inside the city. The Trojans' decision to do so, though wholly voluntary, was strongly influenced by the Greek army's clever manipulations of their perceptions. The Greeks not only hauled the horse by night to the gates of Troy, but spread a rumor t hat the horse had a benign purpose: appeasement of the war goddess Minerva to ensure a safe return home. They also sailed all of their warships away from Troy to a hidden anchorage. They chose, however, to leave behind one Greek, named Sinon. Situating himself where he would be found easily by Trojan forces, Sinon pretended to have escaped wrongful imprisonment after being designated for sacrifice by his own people.

«Consensual Realities In Cyberspace» (0) 10.37Kb 5341 hits
Phrack Volume Three, Issue 30, File #8 of 12 (1989)

[...] More often than we realize, reality conspires to imitate art. In the case of the computer virus reality, the art is "cyberpunk," a strangely compelling genre of science fiction that has gained a cult following among hackers operating on both sides of the law. Books with titles like "True Names," "Shockwave Rider," "Neuromancer," "Hard-wired," "Wetware," and "Mona Lisa Overdrive," are shaping the realities of many would-be viral adepts. Anyone trying to make sense of the social culture surrounding viruses should add the books to their reading list as well. [...]

«Dr Aycock's Bad Idea: Is the Good Use of Computer Viruses Still a Bad Idea?» (0) 13.33Kb 6881 hits
M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture, Volume 8, Issue 1, February 2005 (2005)

Following the deep-seated analogy between biological and computer parasites, it is surely inconceivable that anyone would want to deliberately infect a computer. It’s a bad idea, right? Well, not necessarily. It seems that the University of Calgary (UoC) want to challenge the received wisdom of security experts—a judgment, which determines that there is no such thing as a good virus. The UoC wants to encourage their students to write and test malevolent viruses. Still following the biological analogy, Dr John Aycock, the academic who runs the program at UoC, likens the approach to ‘what medical researchers do to combat the latest biological viruses such as Sars’. He argues that ‘before you can develop a cure, you have to understand what the virus is and how it spreads and what motivates those who write malicious software’ (Fried). The reaction from security experts is not surprisingly one of dismay—for them, all viruses are bad.

«Senders, Receivers and Deceivers: How Liar Codes Put Noise Back on the Diagram of Transmission» (0) 13.21Kb 5544 hits
M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture, Volume 9, Issue 1, March 2006 (2006)

In the half-century since Shannon invented information theory… engineers have come up with brilliant ways of boiling redundancy out of information… This lets it be transmitted twice as fast (Bill Gates: 33).

«A Virus in Info-Space: the open network and its enemies» (0) 14.02Kb 5205 hits
M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture, Volume 7, Issue 3, July 2004 (2004)

«The Spam Book: On Viruses, Porn and Other Anomalies From the Dark Side of Digital Culture» (0) 855.82Kb 387 hits
Hampton Press, NJ (2009)

For those of us increasingly reliant on email networks in our everyday social interactions, spam can be a pain; it can annoy; it can deceive; it can overlaod. Yet spam can also entertain and perplex us. This book is an aberration into the dark side of network culture. Instead of regurgitating stories of technological progress or over celebrating creative social media on the internet, it filters contemporary culture through its anomalies.

«Where have the worms and viruses gone? - new trends in malware» (0) 30.94Kb 6651 hits
Computer Fraud & Security, Volume 2006, Issue 7, pp. 4-8 (2006)

Although many new worms and viruses surface every week, they are becoming less widespread than those in previous years. In contrast, bots and botnets are becoming more prolific and troublesome; botnets consisting of hundreds of thousands of bots or even more are not uncommon. Bot writers and botnet operators have numerous motives for engaging in their sordid activity, but the desire to make money has become by far the chief motivator. Meanwhile, the nature of current worms and viruses is also changing considerably - a growing number of them uses instant messaging (IM) to replicate, and worms and viruses that target handheld computing devices are also becoming more prevalent. Bots and botnets pose very elevated levels of risk, risk that needs to be controlled through a variety of security countermeasures.

«The Viral Mind: Understanding the Motives of Malicious Coders» (0) 16.43Kb 4362 hits
http://www.securityfocus.com/print/infocus/1583 (2002)

Over the years I have seen many people offer opinions on why virus writers do what they do. While I accept that many of these people have indeed spoken to a small number of malware authors, it has become all too apparent that much of their text has been based on opinion and not fact. In this article, I will draw upon my own experiences as a virus writer and as a member of the virus (and anti-virus) community to explore some of the reasons that people would devote their time to developing viruses.

«VIRETHIC. Viral Morality: A Call for Discussion» (0) 22.71Kb 4839 hits
Alive Vol II, Issue 1 (1995)

"Computer ethics" has been an ongoing study in the technical world. On the one hand is the study of the ethical, moral, or proper use of computers. On the other, is the study of computer crime and vandalism. Lately, I have noted a rather desperate interest in courses or training in computer ethics, as well as an increase in the frequency and depth of discussions regarding the ethics of virus writing. I would like to address this latter topic, specifically.

«Outside people» (0) 3.28Kb 4549 hits
VX-tasy [1] (1999)

Everyone in the VX and AV scene have different points of view about the relative side. For example there are coders in the VX side that have as first thing to try new technic of coding and fuck the AV programs. There are coders that write viruses like an artist makes something of personal and there are coders that write viruses because they consider creating viruses is to create life and many other point of view everyone interesting.

«The Virus Creation Labs: A Journey into the Underground» (1) 353.49Kb 14861 hits
American Eagle Publications (1994)

... where some people think they're police, and some think they're God... where lousy products get great reviews, and people who write good programs are shouted down by fools. Visit a world of idiots gawking at technological marvels as those marvels munch up their data. Visit a world where government agents distribute viruses and anti-virus developers hire virus writers (or work for them). Surely this is cyberspace as it was meant to be! (Mark Ludwig, Author of The Little Black Book of Computer Viruses)As a satirist, I should probably resent this book, because I am incapable of making up anything as wild as George Smith's true account of the media-manufactured panic over computer viruses. But as a reader, I found it riveting. If you like superstition, ignorance, duplicity, greed, demonology and hypocricy as much as I do, you'll like it too! (Floyd Kemske, Critically acclaimed author of The Virtual Boss)

«Are Anti-Virus Companies Criminals?» (0) 4.1Kb 5117 hits
Coderz [1] (2000)

The first thing is, that in several countries there is a law against the ownership of viral sourcecodes and binaries. But this also includes, that it is forbidden to share these things. What do AV'ers do ? They share their files so they all are able to include common viruses into the databases. In addition to this, they have a lot of viral binaries and disassemblys in their labs, to analyze viruses.

«It's the End of the World (as we know it)» (0) 18.73Kb 4972 hits

[...] In the old days only bearded techies with sandals were on the Internet. They were heavily into computers, they understood how computers worked (they had to in order to get on the net in the first place) - in a nutshell they were academic types [...]

«Are Computer Hacker Break-ins Ethical?» (0) 38.17Kb 6000 hits
Journal of Systems and Software, 17(1):41–48, January 1992. (1992)

Recent incidents of unauthorized computer intrusion have brought about discussion of the ethics of breaking into computers. Some individuals have argued that as long as no significant damage results, break-ins may serve a useful purpose. Others counter with the expression that the break-ins are almost always harmful and wrong.This article lists and refutes many of the reasons given to justify computer intrusions. It is the author’s contention that break-ins are ethical only in extreme situations, such as a life-critical emergency. The article also discusses why no break-in is “harmless.”

«Computer Viruses and Ethics» (0) 45.73Kb 7387 hits
Purdue Technical Report CSD-TR-91-061 (1991)

There has been considerable interest in computer viruses since they first appeared in 1981, and especially in the past few years as they have reached epidemic numbers in many personal computer environments. Viruses have been written about as a security problem, as a social problem, and as a possible means of performing useful tasks in a distributed manner. Most users of computers view viruses as annoying or dangerous. Some people, however, claim that (at least some) viruses are beneficial.This paper begins with a description of how computer viruses operate, and the various ways simple viruses are structured. It then discusses the most common reasons put forth to explain the writing of viruses, and discusses whether those reasons justify the resultant damages.

«A Failure to Learn from the Past» (0) 79.41Kb 5623 hits
Proceedings of the 19th Annual Computer Security Applications Conference, p. 217 (2003)

On the evening of 2 November 1988, someone "infected" the Internet with a worm program. That program exploited flaws in utility programs in systems based on BSD-derived versions of UNIX. The flaws allowed the program to break into those machines and copy itself, thus infecting those systems. This program eventually spread to thousands of machines, and disrupted normal activities and Internet connectivity for many days. It was the first major network-wide attack on computer systems, and thus was a matter of considerable interest. This paper provides a brief chronology of both the spread and eradication of the program, a presentation about how the program worked, and details of the aftermath. That is followed by discussion of some observations of what has happened in the years since that incident. The discussion supports the title of this paper - that the community has failed to learn from the past.

«Some politically incorrect words about the so-called "scene"» (0) 15.34Kb 6214 hits
Coderz [1] (2000)

[...] Virus writers and all people classified globally under the "Vx" label are an interesting population to observe. Especially if you can have a look from the inside, and, at the same time, if you're not involved enough, in order to be able to see the "scene" from an independant and exterior point of view. I think i qualify here. I'm around since a few years, met some coders in real life, wrote some viruses, but at the same time i was never member of any group, i'm old enough to be able, i hope, to think with some distance, and these last monthes i basically had better things to do than to write code. [...]

«Somehow we should... Web 2.0» (0) 3.52Kb 4658 hits
(2008)

What are successful projects? Mozilla Firefox and Wikipedia,for example. Why are they successful and what is the connection between them? Many people work together, many brains think together with one goal: Increase the complexity and quality of the project.

«Sterling vs. Virus Writers» (0) 6.46Kb 5154 hits
Antivirus Online, Volume 2, Issue 1 (1997)

«The computer virus as a tool of individual empowerment» (0) 4.18Kb 5068 hits
CryptNews [5] (1992)

It's time to start thinking in real terms about the computer virus as a tool for individual empowerment. To avoid an overly windy essay, I'm going to focus on two real human examples.

«It Came from Outer Space: The Virus, Cultural Anxiety, and Speculative Fiction» (0) 106.11Kb 6690 hits
http://etd02.lnx390.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0607102-185008/ (2002)

This study seeks to explore and interrogate the "viral reality" of the 1990s, in which the virus, heavily indebted to representations of AIDS for its metaphorical power, emerged as a prominent agent in science and popular culture. What becomes apparent in both fictional and non-fictional texts of this era, however, is that the designation of "virus" transcends specific and material viral phenomena, making the virus itself a touchstone for modern preoccupations with self and other. As constituted by the human body's interaction with pathogenic agents, the binary of self and other may be deconstructed by an interrogation of the virus itself, a permeable and mutable body that lends itself to any number of interpretive possibilities. A uniquely liminal agent, the virus refuses categorization as either life or non-life. However, it is not the liminality of the pathogen that allows for this deconstruction, which serves to frustrate such boundaries in the first place. Rather, the notion that viruses are (always) already a part of who we are as human beings, and that "self" is not necessarily a self-enclosed autonomous entity, suggests that the binary cannot hold. A virus is unique; an insider/outsider that crosses artificial boundaries, it destabilizes the boundaries themselves, and thus the traditional framework of self and other. Examining viral accounts in popular science writings, film, television, advertisements, philosophy, science fiction, and naturalistic fiction, this study examines the ways in which science and popular culture have characterized both the virus and its psychological and material effects, and suggests that the pathogen-as-signifier may be read in ways that point to the virus's utopian potential as a theoretical category.

«Malicious code: An ethical dilemma» (0) 22.78Kb 2244 hits
Proceedings of 12th National Computer Security Conf., Baltimore, October 12, 1989, pp.542-546 (1989)

In the early 1980s, the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, voted to petition Harvard University to temporarily halt the construction of a very expensive laboratory for specialized genetics research. This action, initiated and supported by distinguished members of the faculty, recognized the potentially dangerous situation at hand. This example is typical of what professionals usually do when they encounter an immature technology. The information about the atomic bomb and other such devices also was tightly controlled by military professionals with an ethical standard that demanded control to assure the protection of the larger community. A technology equally dangerous to the national compuler security community is malicious code. It is a problem that has crossed international borders, and threatens the integrity of every type of system from personal computers to super computers. In 1985 J.M. Carroll and H. Juergensen performed mathematicai proofs showing that any current state-of-the-art time sharing, multiprogramming environment could not simultaneously support security and integrity without compromising protection, efficiency or both [1]. The National Computer Security Center's (NCSC) Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC) and Trusted Network Interpretation (TNI) guidelines do not specifically address viruses. In fact, the Internet Virus of 1988 might have propagated on a B2 system and perhaps even on an A1. Will technology alone solve the problem of malicious code? If not, how should we then compute?

«Virus Culture» (0) 37.57Kb 5397 hits
Studies in popular Culture 20.1, 1997 (1997)

The observation that "laughter is contagious" is a familiar one. However, currently on Route 66 in Virginia, commuters are advised by an illuminated road-side placard that "Safe driving is contagious." A recent television advertisement for a computer game encapsulated its product with the slogan, "Its not just a game, its an infection." Wolfgang Peterson's 1995 movie Outbreak begins with the dramatic assertion, from the suitably scientific and imposing "Joshua Lederberg, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate," that "The single biggest threat to man's continued domination of the planet is the virus." Miko D. Grmek, in his text History of AIDS, characterizes AIDS as the preeminent metaphor "express[ing] our era" (xii). The following warning has circulated repeatedly across computer bulletin boards and discussion groups throughout the world and will be familiar to most e-mail users

«Virus writers in the wild» (0) 8.16Kb 5364 hits
COMPUTERWORLD (2003)

The University of Calgary is getting a lot of attention these days. The school is offering a course on how to write computer viruses and malware.

«The virmaking is dying» (1) 2.07Kb 5334 hits
29a [6] (2002)

The virmaking is dying. Moreover, this process is about to reach the point-of-no-return.

«A pilot study on college student's attitudes toward computer virus» (0) 8.16Kb 5039 hits
(2008)

In the past, there are a few studies on college students' attitudes toward computer virus. To construct a computer virus attitude scale, author interviewed twenty students and classified three types of attitude toward computer virus. These three types of attitude composed of fear of computer virus, curious about computer virus, and hated computer virus. As a result, the initial pool of items in the scale included a total of eighteen items. These eighteen items were then presented using a five-point Likert scale to a group of Taiwan college students for item analysis. All of the items were presented in Chinese. The translation between English and Chinese in this study was completed by the author, and two external reviewers were hired to validate the translation. In this study, 360 questionnaires were dispatched to students and then collected only 301 valid questionnaires. To analyze the reliability and validity, author employed Cronbach's alpha and principal components analysis with varimax rotation. The results of data analysis showed computer virus attitude scale is reliable and valid.

83 authors, 105 titles