If you want fame and adulation, forget about becoming a rock star
or a football hero - write a virus instead. The authors of the Anna
Kournikova and Love Bug viruses have both become celebrities
through their anti-social behaviour.
The mayor of the Anna Kournikova virus writer's home town of Sneek
is so pleased with the publicity raining down on his town that he
has invited the geek from Sneek to come in for a "serious
interview" after he completes his studies. The mayor says, "It is
in our interest to employ people like him in our IT department."
Computer Weekly looks forward to writing about the
"Increase my salary or the mayor's Inbox gets fragged" virus.
Don't fear Bruno virus
Thanks for all the ideas for future virus names you have sent
in. Matt King writes, "How about 'Virus Warning from
Microsoft/AOL'. Judging from the amount of warnings for hoax
viruses in my inbox from concerned newbies you wouldn't even need
to write the replication code!"
Greg Evans goes for, "How about the Frank Bruno virus? Looks
quite menacing but is dead easy to remove!"
And Gavin Brett says, " I will put £10 on 'hi big boy' being a
virus name within the next two years. If someone sent me a message
with that I would open it like a shot." Really, Brett.
Hacker's 1471 blunder
With all this hacking going on it is not surprising companies
are being warned to keep up to date with the latest security
technology. However, it is not always the whizz-bang IT that saves
the day, as a schoolboy hacker found out to his cost recently.
A technically-minded young fellow phoned up security company
Intensiti claiming to have damaging information about the company's
security and threatened to release this unless he was paid a hefty
cash ransom. A foolproof plan surely?
Not for this fool. On the off chance, consultant Stephen Ward,
who took the call, dialled 1471 and bingo, the hacker was traced,
leading to an embarrassing arrest for the 15-year-old in front of
all his schoolmates.
Microsoft's 69 success
Reader Paul Miller lets us in on this amusing tale. "I was
looking for some clipart from the Microsoft design gallery at
dgl.microsoft.com/ and wanted something to
illustrate 'success'. I therefore set up a search using the
aforementioned keyword and the 'results should be motion'
option.
"Of the two graphics that came back, one was of a man at the top
of what looked like a building. I clicked the graphic in order to
get a preview to be greeted with the phrase 'show more by style
69'. "I could not resist the temptation, despite what you hear
about such messages and viruses. This was Microsoft, after all.
"Apart from a graphic of a man doing something with an enormous
tool, I can't see what they are on about!"