WEEKLY WHINE

Interaction: Internet intrigue

Myers: Good evening, and welcome once again to Interaction, the sixty minutes that make you feel important to yourself, except on weekends. We've got a big show for you this week, with the topic being computer viruses and the people who write them. Within the past couple of weeks, we've seen the emergence of a new virus and the apprehension of its suspected author. The person who reportedly wrote the Sasser virus lives in Germany; is this becoming the new hotbed of viruses? What can we do to keep people from becoming virus authors? When they do become virus writers, what, if anything, can we do to make them change their minds? And how do we link their online personalities with their real personalities? These questions and more will be avoided by our panelists today. I'm Debbie Myers. First, joining us in Adelaide, SA, Australia is the editor of Popular Virusing magazine, Ms Rebecca Rabicza.

Rabicza: Hello, Debbie.

Myers: In Valencia, Spain, we have Ms Utricia van Alzbech, who serves as the lead programs director at the Instituto Informacional de Valencia.

van Alzbech: Good evening.

Myers: In Fort Worth, TX, USA, freelance virus tester Mr Mark Paldredge.

Paldredge: Hi.

Myers: And here with me in our Warwickshire studios, the president of the Leeds Anti-Leet Society, Mr Eric Forsberg.

Forsberg: Good day.

Myers: And to each of you, thanks for joining us. Rebecca, we'll go to you first. Popular Virusing has often been blamed for spreading news about viruses and distributing notoriety to virus writers, thereby perpetuating the scourge of viruses throughout the world. How do you respond to that?

Rabicza: Well, Debbie, quite frankly, I disagree with every word. I don't remember all of the words you said, but I especially disagree with the word "about". I don't think we spread news "about" viruses at all. I would say that, even if we could be said to spread news and even if that news had any connection with viruses whatsoever, that might possibly be construed as news relating to viruses. I don't think we're prepared to commit to anything more than that.

Myers: I feel we can all agree with that. Utricia, the Instituto Informacional de Valencia has long been one of the foremost centres for virus research. How can you extract meaningful information from a virus's executable code and turn it into something that can be traced back to its human originator?

van Alzbech: Well, our office is in a little bit of disarray at the moment, as we've been preparing for the UEFA Cup final in Sweden this week. Valencia CF, as you're aware, have recently won their sixth Spanish championship and will soon be playing in their third European final in five years. And we're all very excited about that.

Myers: That must certainly strike close to home for many of us. Mark, how does the virus testing that you've done lead to security improvements in operating systems?

Paldredge: It's quite simple really. I test viruses that exploit particular flaws, and then I call up Microsoft or whoever and laugh at them.

Myers: Noble sentiments there. Eric, what should young people know about virus writing that might keep them from pursuing opportunities in that field?

Forsberg: It's a dangerous game, and if you start spending a lot to get into that game, one or two bad performances can ruin you.

Myers: Well, let's discuss that in a little more depth. Mark, would you agree that virus writing is a perilous world?

Paldredge: Absolutely. I mean, if a virus writer ever gets on my nerves, I can squeal to the cops, and that guy will be rounded up like cattle within the week. So you've got to be careful about whom you trust.

Myers: Utricia, is that how most virus authors are captured, or does reverse engineering the code usually lead to more arrests?

van Alzbech: There's something of each in there. Just like there could be a little bit of domestic and European glory in Valencia's season. They've got the UEFA Cup final coming up against Marseille this week.

Myers: Rebecca, why is it that a particular virus writer tends to have such a short career?

Rabicza: Believe it or not, virus writing isn't actually as much fun as it may sound at first. That's why, in response to our subscribers' suggestions, we've instituted a Virus Fun and Games section in our magazine, with the instant classic "What's My Segmentation Fault?" section.

Myers: Well, as much as we'd all like to hear about that, we'd better first move on to questions. As is par for the course here on Interaction, you have a number of ways to make your voice heard. There's E-mail, telephone, telegraph, facsimile, post, and messages tied to arrows. We haven't received any messages of that sort, although we understand that our neighbours did. So, let's now go to the telephones and speak with Ally in Duisburg, Germany. Ally, are you there?

Ally in Duisburg: Hello?

Myers: Hello Ally. What is your question?

Ally in Duisburg: Hello everyone.

Myers: Hi.

van Alzbech: Hello.

Paldredge: Hi Ally.

Rabicza: Hello.

Forsberg: Hi.

Ally in Duisburg: I have a question about writing viruses. That's a field in which I'm very interested, and I would like to know if there are any online training courses to help me get started.

Myers: Rebecca, does Popular Virusing help people begin to write viruses?

Rabicza: That's not accurate at all. First off, nobody would want to start writing viruses. And even if they did, there's nobody qualified enough to show them how to do it. Furthermore, even if we had a columnist whom we paid to help struggling virus writers write their first virus, we'd never talk about it.

Myers: Um, I see then. Let's move right along to our next question, from Earl in Newport, RI, USA. In his facsimile, Earl asks why Macs and Linux boxes are immune to viruses. Utricia?

van Alzbech: Please. They aren't. If that was true, everybody would be running other operating systems. You just don't hear about them because their support base is small, despite how vocal they may be. Just like Valencia, the new Spanish champions who are looking for a double this year. We may not make the news a lot, but we matter.

Myers: And Mark, I understand that you've actually got some experience testing Mac viruses, is that right?

Paldredge: That's exactly right. My favourite was one that popped up a spoof "Sorry, a system error has occurred" box, and then instead of an OK button, it had an "Infect every other computer on this network" button. That was fun.

Myers: And what fraction of viruses are for operating systems other than Windows, Mark?

Paldredge: I've tested about 4,000 viruses, including twelve for Macs and eight for various types of Unix. So that's about half a percent. But it's not a very good half a percent.

Myers: And why's that?

Paldredge: Most of them weren't even worth the bandwidth it took to download them. I mean, come on. If you're going to write a virus, write, like, the Ebola virus or something. Not a cold virus.

Myers: Sure. And we have time for one more question, so let's go to an E-mail from Clark in Santa Fe, NM, USA, who asks whether virus writers can become famous celebrities. Eric, can virus writing lead to fame and fortune?

Forsberg: Well, a harmless little virus might not seem like anything important at first. But then one leads to another, and another, and before long you're atop the English virus writing league table and getting into European competition and everything, and you think everything's great. But soon you start to exit competitions early, your high profile viruses don't do as well as you'd hoped, and you start having to sell off some of your viruses hoping that your remaining viruses will right the ship. But then they don't, and you just watch your viruses underperform, and you can feel the drop getting closer and closer, and you know that there has to be something you could have done to keep out of this place, and you know that by then it's too late, and all you can do is wait for the inevitable, and you know you'll never be the same afterward. And everywhere you go, you see little things, reminders of how everything used to be. And you see everyone else in the European competitions, and you say, I used to be there, and everyone scoffs at you and goes, Yeah, but now you're not. That's what it's like.

Myers: Um, okay. That's going to have to be it for Interaction this week. Thanks to Mr Eric Forsberg, Mr Mark Paldredge, Ms Utricia van Alzbech, and Ms Rebecca Rabicza for appearing on this week's programme. Next week we'll have a programme about the club v country battles that occur all the time in football, taking a special look at the UEFA Cup final, the FIFA centennial match, and the FA Cup final, three matches that the world will be watching all in a four day span. We'll be joined by footballers from France and Brazil, a Spanish referee instructor, and an English coach. So, until then, good night.

van Alzbech: Yeah, that UEFA Cup final is going to be the best one of them all. We're all excited about Valencia in that one.

Rabicza: But that's only if that match is going to be played. And even if it is, you can't state with certainty that Valencia will be in it. And even if they are, we shouldn't be prepared to discuss it, I'd say.