Why do people send viruses?

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I just never understood what makes it cool to spread corrupting software.

Not too long ago, someone seemingly mature gave me one. My own fault for opening it really, but still, I really thought someone like that would be above such a thing.

If that person is reading this, I ask, why? If I did something to piss you off, I'm sorry, but I'd at least like to know what it is.

My only guess is it's related to a rather asinine post I made when I was in despair. That's also why I haven't posted for a while. That and, me sucking at computers, it took me a while to solve the virus problem.

Anyway, aren't viruses lame?

Viruses usually have purposes beyond general destruction.

Some people make a hobby out of pissing others off over the internet. Just shows what kind of spineless bastard they probably are in real life.

Years ago, viruses were "clever". They were the first viruses and the joke very quickly wore off.

These days unfortunately, viruses have purposes. There would be no point in writing a virus if there wasn't some sort of payoff. Most are properly financed and intended to either, damage a competitor (either a business or a international - even a religious - competitor). I've seen viruses which were specifically targeted at institutions. Sometimes they were sent by "greenie" organisations against high profile environmentally abusive companies. Sometimes they were just intended to cripple a competitor, or spread bad news about them.

Many viruses today do one or more of several things;

1. Steal information (credit card numbers etc) and send the information back over the internet.
2. Launch marketing campaigns (spam) from computers which can be shut down or blocked but don't stop the campaign.
3. Jointly attack a given target via "remote control" - Zombie Computers
4. Jointly host illegal file sharing sites. I remember a case where someone was wrongly imprisoned for 2 years before it was discovered that he was unaware of what was on his PC.

I'm sure that there are others.

for the above reasons and to be annoying.
and its a "hey look what i can do" thing too.

Because the people that make the destructive ones are total di........ jerks.

Though the harmless ones can be funny if used as a joke on a single person. A classmate of mine put one that he made himself on our teacher's computer once that displayed a message that asked "Do you believe in ghost?" with yes and no buttons. The teacher saw it and when he clicked no, the disc tray opened up.

Maybe not really a virus but it was funny none the less.

what was that recent virus, that said something along the lines of "how could you let this happen, bill?"

it crashed tons of systems, and got on the news.

If I had more time, I'd love to learn how to write viruses.

(The power! The infamy!)

Actually, these days it's a pretty poor skill with click-driven wizards available to write them for you.

If I knew how to make them, I'd be sending them to my enemies. I would have sent one to my online stalker I once had if I knew how to make them back then too. I would feel so powerful with my bullies if I could do that. I find that reasonable to send virus, only to the people who deserve it of course such as bullies and your stalkers.

I sometimes think it's the anti-virus companies that hire kids and such to make viruses and other harmful stuff for PCs so they can increase their profit margin.

Of course, I also think that doctors withhold the good meds to keep people coming back to their offices to be paid more and that the dental industry has the technology to keep you out of their office forever but still chooses to give you a nylon brush and some cheap paste to smear across your teeth twice a day when they have electric tools, fancy chemicals and whatnot.

TheMidnightJudge,
it could be that the sender knew nothing of the virus,as a virused computer can use itself as a supernode in a virus sending or spamming network,dont take it personally.
Has someone owned up to it?


There is one good thing about getting caught up with viruses,it can make people more careful and learn more about computer security,am was very ignorant with computers a few years ago,useless with security and as a result got hit with the ms blaster virus,now days am cleaning up support staffs laptops for them cause they get themselves in the same mess.

It's to hurt people, with no consequences to yourself. Some people get off on things like that.

Some say they do it to prove how vulnerable your system is. I always offer to stop by their house and set it on fire to show how flammable it is...

that is a funny prank one.

Because they want attention. I choose to pity them... after I finish whacking them over the head.

The person is not necessarily to blame. The virus copies itself- that's what a virus is. To be called a virus it doesn't even need to have any nasty side effects. (If a program is something nasty, but masquerades as something good, that's called a trojan.)