from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- Digital Society Virus Ambulance Chasers Hidden network virus eats TV newscaster brains. The hype surrounding the "NewLove" virus is spreading, well, like a virus -- and at the center of the hype are the companies themselves. "Anti-virus companies have always been seen as ambulance chasers, and sometimes, it's true," said Dan Schrader, the chief security analyst at Trend Micro. "Because this is an industry that has been built on hype and alerts and pretensions of being good citizens, the industry doesn't have a lot of credibility." That's what happened Friday, Schrader said, when numerous alerts were sent out by anti-virus companies, and the virus only affected a small number of computers and networks. But the media, and even Janet Reno, did their part to fuel the fire as well. "I have to admit this whole thing became a media feeding frenzy," said Schrader, who estimated he had been interviewed a dozen times since 5 a.m. (PDT) Friday morning. "This whole industry runs on hysteria," said Rob Rosenberger, webmaster of Computer Virus Myths. "It's just one more press release about a virus that's probably going nowhere." News of the virus spread rapidly as soon as it was discovered. Trend Micro learned that one of its customers was infected with the newer, nasty virus late Thursday, Schrader said. A reporter called him, having heard from anti-virus company Symantec that one of its customers was also affected, and Trend Micro then decided to call the Associated Press. "This thing is all of a sudden snowballing," Schrader said. Ironically, the "NewLove" virus, while nasty, has had nowhere near the effect that its pesky cousin "Love Bug" did two weeks ago. "We really haven't seen it out there that much," admitted McAfee director Sal Viveros. But Schrader said that despite the hype, there are legitimate reasons to inform the media to get the word out quickly. "We need to educate 300 million people overnight, and that is an absurd responsibility," Schrader said. "The pressure to (tell the media) is huge because you never know when one of these viruses will be the big one." "The proactive notification of customers is a responsible thing to do," said Tom Powledge, a group product manager for Symantec. McAfee's Viveros added that any time there is a huge outbreak like the Love Bug, companies are also on high alert. "Historically, we see a whole slew of copycats and variants after a major virus outbreak," Viveros said. "We're monitoring extra closely." Over-hyping of computer viruses is not a new phenomenon. The most notorious example of hype was during the Michelangelo virus in 1992. John McAfee, founder of McAfee Associates, warned that Michelangelo would hit 20 million computers, when in fact the virus infected 20,000 computers at best, Schrader said. And he believes there are better ways of preventing virus outbreaks, and the media circus that surrounds them. "If we had 200 of the largest ISPs scanning the traffic they're delivering for viruses, we wouldn't have an outbreak of (the "Love Bug") magnitude," Schrader said. He pointed out that US West already does this for its customers, and British Telecom also has plans to scan for viruses. Rosenberger of the Computer Virus Myths homepage said that the problem will be corrected once users demand anti-virus software that can detect viruses before they infect computers, instead of the after-the-fact detection that companies use now. "Users are the biggest avenue to change," Rosenberger said. Nevertheless, part of the credit that the virus was so easily contained was that people are becoming more aware of these invaders. "The virus companies were ready and the users were ready," said Chris Vargas, president of F-Secure. "People were ready for this, which is really good news." Wired News, May 20, 2000 <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html <A HREF="http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
