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Date: Sat, 5 Mar 1994 13:57:23 -0500
From: "USENET News System" <news@INDIANA.EDU>
Subject: File 7--Response to Frisk (Re CuD 6.19)

frisk@COMPLEX.IS(Fridrik Skulason) wrote:
> A poster in CuD #6.19 wrote:

> >I even created a virus or two in my years of computing, but never with
> >the purpose of trying to harm another user's system!  I create them only
> >for testing purposes, and when I find one that fails a scanned test, I
> >forward it to the company that created the anti-virus software.
>
> Do you really think you are doing anybody a favour by doing that ?
> Anti-virus companies already receive on the average 7 new viruses per
> day right now...we really don't need any more.

Fridrik:
 It seems to me that one of the purposes of creating anti-virus software
is to combat viruses. *ahem* What better way to do so than to receive virus
programs from a "tester" and then write code to prevent similar
programs from proliferating from a less honest individual?

 I don't see any validity in the argument against writing viruses
to be sent into anti-virus software companies. If these people
don't write test viruses, someone else will come up with similar
ones and use them unscrupulously.

 If anti-virus companies are receiving "too many" new viruses every
day, then perhaps they need to deal with the backlog. A representative
such as yourself (I take it from your statementd that you work
with such a company) certainly shouldn't be ranting and raving at
people who are using their valuable time trying to help.


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