Who does it really?

[Jerrymac]

I just ran across an article about a computer virus that is suppose to attack today. That's correct, you could have gotten this worm into your computer some time in the past and today it will attack.

In this same article it metioned a web site one could go to and have your computer scanned for free for this worm, I think because it could bypass or affect you anti-virus thinggy.

Isn't it amazing that someone, other than the creator of the virus I'm sure, knows about this before it strikes and has a way to clean it up?

I have to wonder just what is the point of computer viruses if they are created by some prankster-hacker out there somewhere. Someone with nothing better to do than sit around slingging out distructive viruses onto the internet, not knowing where they are going or who the might affect. AND, this is the biggy, they don't get to see what their little prank did to who. WOW. How many people enjoy pulling practicle jokes if they don't get to witness the joke in progress.

Has  anybody besides me ever thought that the people that make/sell virus protection for computers were the only ones that would benefit from computer viruses? Why would a bunch of hackers out there want to keep making THE OTHER GUY RICH while they spent the time and effort to create the virus and get absolutly nothing from it?

[TREBOR]

makes no sence to me either!
what a waste of creative abilities

[wmarkjones]

I just ran across an article ...

There are various possibilities for what motivates a hacker / virus author:

1) Money - they can easily harvest valuable, private information from vulnerable systems that can be exploited to steal from others
2) Spite - talented people with a misdirected animosity toward technology or toward specific companies can write stuff to wreak havoc.
3) Terrorism - Don't you think those behind terrorist activities have the interest, the funding, and the resources to continue to attempt rewinding history 300 years?
4) Boredom / entertainment - the morbid fascination with others' demise has never ceased to amaze me.
5) Social kudos - what hacker / nerd would be prouder than one that is able to show off the global, destructive effects of their own work to their cohorts?

Other possibilities are probably not just occurring to me at the moment.

[Jerrymac]

And why does either of those just goof around with it then? If I was capable of comeing up with that stuff I wouldn't release passive little critters every now and then. I'd do some damage, something that would make the news big time.

[Jack Parr]

ARE  tuned in to a different beat than the rset of us.

I read a book written about one Hacker,  Barry Mitnick ( I think that is one name I recall ). The book was written about him and not by him. This guys specialty was cell phones and using them to hack into hard wired systems. His methods got complicated and difficult to understand for the non electronic/cyber layman.

The guy wasn't exceptionally gifted or bright but he had a passion. Phone hacking was it. I suppose that a passion like that could be equated to an addiction. I dunno since I don't have any great passion for much of anything, rational or irrational, I really can't understand this guy in that regard. He was eventually caught and went to jail for some time. It's been some time since I read this book and some of the fine details have slipped from memory but I confess I really didn't understand why anyone could be attracted to doing something like hacking into the phone systems except for financial gain. The guy did do some free calling but that really wasn't what drove him. At least he didn't 'fess up to much financial gain.

I personally am not very computer literate, at all. However I do read and have read about the cyber world and some about hackers. It seems that, usually they, the hackers are loners, anti social, mostly young males mostly caucasions working alone. We know some of them through all those " junk e-mail " that is our irritation and their financial gain. Well we really don't know them as people since they are very sophisticated and hide their activities very well, and if caught or near getting caught it is fairly simple to fold up that shop and re-start, somehow fairly fast, or so I understand.

Maybe I'm too old to really understand, or want to understand, why anyone would find some sort of satisfaction or passion doing computer or telephone hacking. But...