From: dmarer@td2cad.intel.com (Dennis Marer)
Newsgroups: comp.programming
Subject: Re: Virus Programs 4 Sale  (Virus, Trojans, etc)
Date: 26 Jan 93 21:27:12 GMT
Organization: Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA USA

In article <1k2k6pINNdng@digex.digex.com> alby@access.digex.com (Albatross) writes:
>                            VIRUS'es    FOR    SALE
>                        ----------------------------------

Greetings,

	This message is in response to the 'Virus programs for sale' message
posted recently on the comp.programming newsgroup.

	First, as mentioned in a subsequent post, commercial advertisement of 
products for sale on the Internet is taboo in all cases.  It's a waste of
resources and abusive to this delicate network.  If the user in question is
new to the Internet and does not know of this, it is excusable.

	Second, distribution of viruses, for whatever reason, always poses
certain ethical questions.  Mention was made of testing to insure virus
scanners are working properly.  In the hands of someone who is knowledgeable
of computer viruses, this is perfectly feasible.  However, one should remember
one of the most common ways of transmitting viruses is completely by accident
by users who are not familiar with them.  Who is to say that a user who orders
these disks of viruses is not going to accidentally pass these viruses on to
a friend?  Once the user has the virus, there is no control of what happens
next.  He or she could use the viruses as suggested, test his or her virus
protection software, and be satisfied with the results.  In another scenario,
a potentially dangerous virus could be accidentally transferred by an
unknowledgeable user.  In the worst case, these viruses could intentionally be
altered or distributed to incur harm on others.

	Consider if the original post had advertised several deadly biological
viruses and diseases sold in hypodermic syringes, complete with needles.  For
only $20, you could buy a syringe filled with AIDS, bubonic plague, Herpes,
and so on.  At home, you could inject a small animal with this concoction to
see if standard lab tests would detect such infections.  Accidentally, the
buyer could come in contact with these substances, become infected, and
spread the disease to others.  Or, also in the worst case, intentionally
transmit the viruses to another person with intent to inflict harm.

	There are reasons viruses, biological or computer, are not freely
disseminated.  In the future, keep in mind that the people who need to know
about the Schizo Trjoan or the Pakistan Virus already are very familiar with
them, much more so than the average user.  These people are doing research to
prevent the spread of viruses by detection and prevention, such as the (this
is a quote) "money hungry" Norton and McAfee Associates.  The distribution of 
viruses counteracts their efforts, costing others time and money when a virus 
appears on their machines.

	It is my hope that the original poster realizes this fact before
selling any copies of the 40 or so viruses listed in his post, weighs the
consequences against his profit making scheme, and decides instead to return
all checks and money orders, and to destroy all known copies of these viruses.
As mentioned many times before, information is not dangerous, people using
information in dangerous ways is dangerous.  One could easily obtain the plans
to build a nuclear bomb, but obtaining plutonium is a little more difficult.
It's not intentional misuse of computer viruses I am wary of; it's the 
unintentional spread that is more dangerous to the average user.  In this
case, the 'bomb' is already built, and it's for sale at $20 a disk.

				Dennis Marer
				dmarer@td2cad.intel.com

-- Not speaking for Intel