Virus writer recommends anti-virus
Brazilian virus writer reveals all to Finnish magazine
A Brazilian software programmer, who proudly claims 'viruses are my life' says that he does not want his viruses to spread and that he recommends anti-virus products to his friends.
In an interview with Finnish online magazine ITVikko, 32-year-old Marcos Velasco said 'viruses, hacking and security are my favourites'.
Despite the fact that Velasco makes the source code of his viruses publicly available - and acknowledges that this is an open invitation for other miscreants to download the viruses, modify them and distribute them - he claims that he does not wish his viruses to spread.
Currently there is no law against virus-writing in Brazil, but Velasco is not even put off by the prospect of it becoming illegal, saying: 'The politicians are working on new computer crime law, but I’ll continue my studies with viruses regardless of the outcome.'
The 32-year-old father also told ITVikko that he recommends anti-virus products to his friends, saying: 'I respect the anti-virus companies. I actually recommend Kaspersky and F-Secure for my friends.' Understandably, researchers at F-Secure do not seem impressed by this dubious honour.
An English translation of the full interview can be found on mobilemonday.net.
20 January 2005
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