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Teen admits to writing Sasser

voicegy said:
A true loser/jerk/miscreant/socially isolated dipwad. I'd sooner be jealous of Jeffrey Skilling.
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I didn't mean I was jelous of him because he lives with his parents, I am jelous of him because he has obviouly good skills at programming. Skills I'm still trying to master.

Being 18 and living with your parents is disgraceful in my family, and I agree (with them).
 
What are you guys talking about? Many high school seniors turn 18 and still live with their parents. Why is that so "disgraceful"? You people are weird and too judgmental.
 
So... back on topic, I guess...

I'm routing for the guy and as small of a sentencing as possible. He knew exactly which platform to go after.
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i'd love to see what evidence they have, what lead the authorities to him. If it's just a single informant plus his confession, i need more before i believe it's him. False confessions are pretty common, especially in a case this huge... he's now an international celebrity. I'm not saying he didn't do it, just that i'd like to see something solid connecting him, or demonstrating that he's even capable of such programming, before we start shooting at him...

paul
 
Well, being from the country that brought you not only WWI and II, but also Sasser, I just want you to understand that we have a different education system. Students can leave school at 15, 16 or 19 to go to a different school, which focuses more on actual jobs or they can start working in a training program for three years in their actual job. They do not get paid very well while in training. The Sasser programmer left school with 16 and wants to go back to get his high school diploma, which most students get with 19 (i just passed my last final today). After that it is either military service or social work, so another year of having a low income. Thus, still living at home with 18 is pretty normal after all - it's just a cheap preparation for the 4-8 years of university...

There's prolly a more important thing than him living with his parents to think of, though. Why can an 18 year old boy get a company like Delta to cancel flights?
 
voicegy said:
A true loser/jerk/miscreant/socially isolated dipwad. I'd sooner be jealous of Jeffrey Skilling.
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It's hardly an apt comparison. Jeffrey Skilling only shows how ignorant he is. If this person wrote the worm, he's capable of independent thinking, something an executive would never be able to do.

It's unfortunate that he chose such a pitiful outlet for his talents, though. I'd bet there is some application all of us could have used that he could have brought to reality.
 
bousozoku said:
It's hardly an apt comparison. Jeffrey Skilling only shows how ignorant he is.
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They both engaged in criminal activities. Skilling make a "killing", so I'd be more inclined to be somewhat jealous of his ample wealth. I couldn't care less if the worm geek lived with his parents or at the Ritz Carlton - I find sitting behind a computer and spending large amounts of time coming up with disruptive code and releasing it to be conducive to the traits I described.

Of course, as paulwhannel so gently points out, the jury is still out on this young man's actual guilt, so I'll retract the statement in spirit until more information is forthcoming.
 
jamdr said:
What are you guys talking about? Many high school seniors turn 18 and still live with their parents. Why is that so "disgraceful"? You people are weird and too judgmental.
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I can't telll you how many times my parents have said. "The second you turn 18, I'm kicking your sorry a$$ but out of my house!"

My parents don't like me very much (they still 'love' me), they like my sister alot more. That may seem unrealistic and not very believable, but if you were me, you would know. I've serously considered suicide twice in my life, and I'm sure I'll consider it again. I need help.
 
musicpyrite said:
I can't telll you how many times my parents have said. "The second you turn 18, I'm kicking your sorry a$$ but out of my house!"

My parents don't like me very much (they still 'love' me), they like my sister alot more. That may seem unrealistic and not very believable, but if you were me, you would know. I've serously considered suicide twice in my life, and I'm sure I'll consider it again. I need help.
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I hope your joking about the suicide stuff, cause that's a mistake you can't make twice.

After I went off to college, my parents moved into a smaller house. I can still come home but I have to sleep on the sofa, because I don't have a room nor a bed there. Of course my sister, who is also in college, has her own room in new the house. So go figure...
 
paulwhannel said:
i'd love to see what evidence they have, what lead the authorities to him. If it's just a single informant plus his confession, i need more before i believe it's him. False confessions are pretty common, especially in a case this huge... he's now an international celebrity. I'm not saying he didn't do it, just that i'd like to see something solid connecting him, or demonstrating that he's even capable of such programming, before we start shooting at him...

paul
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You have a point, but the fact they managed to have a prime suspect within a week of the worm start date seems to suggest they've got more on him than dubious confessions.
 
Suicide attempts are not a good plea for attention. Be glad for the parents you have. Then go watch The Breakfast Club.

Savage Henry said:
You have a point, but the fact they managed to have a prime suspect within a week of the worm start date seems to suggest they've got more on him than dubious confessions.
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I hope so, it'd be nice to nab this guy. They just haven't released any more info, which is frustrating-- there's a $5 million motive for capture, so they need to be careful and sure of themselves.

I will point out, while i have little sympathy for this guy, we can be thankful he didn't make it any more malicious. We've been hearing for, well, years now, that terrorists could strike in such a way, and much more devastating results would follow. World markets could shut down for days or weeks, traffic systems could be crippled, democrats and republicans could get along for a while... it'd be nuts. We've been lucky in that someone is showing us how vulnerable the internet is, without doing a worst-case scenario on it. It's a little bit like when people run non-malicious attacks on computer systems, to test and publicize their vulnerability for real malicious attacks. Only in this case, the kid did still cost hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, i hope he knew what he was getting himself into.

paul
 
paulwhannel said:
World markets could shut down for days or weeks, traffic systems could be crippled, democrats and republicans could get along for a while... it'd be nuts. We've been lucky in that someone is showing us how vulnerable the internet is, without doing a worst-case scenario on it.
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At the moment I work for a large, but not mega big, company firmly entrenched in the Windows format. But we seem to withstand the attacks by the worms and viruses. The threats of these things tend to come from out staff who throw their email address around like confetti. Fortunately our techie guys are up to it and nothing more than 20 minutes to the support desk per victim was endured. So I think, IMHO purely based on my own company, that a strong frontline defense would be an improvement in staff web etiquette and understanding.

Virus writers know that the biggest proportion of web-users on the planet do not give it it's due respect and they are the weak spots through which you can exploit the vulnerable system.

And the last thing I want is democrats and republicans getting on !!! ;)
 
Savage Henry said:
So I think, IMHO purely based on my own company, that a strong frontline defense would be an improvement in staff web etiquette and understanding.
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I think it would be easier to write a perfect OS than to get everyone to fully understand the need for security.

Just look at the last e-mail virus that went around. Lots of people (even after being told not to time after time) clicked on the attachment. :rolleyes:
And if there was another e-mail virus that went around, I am sure they would click on it again!
 
Dippo said:
I think it would be easier to write a perfect OS than to get everyone to fully understand the need for security.
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Before I took my introduction to Java college course, I thought just like you about how easy it could be to write a perfect operating system.
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Lots of people (even after being told not to time after time) clicked on the attachment.
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Sasser wasn't distributed through email attachments, but rather simply by having an internet connection and running certain operating systems on it. Though for regular viruses that are distributed through email attachments... here you bring up an interesting (or potentially interesting) debate: Virus protection vs. Public awareness. I think the issue is with public awareness, because curiousity -- even to double-click a simple 4KB package -- can cost you your computer.

What needs to be done in the future is a much more detailed analysis to computer users of the effect of the virus, how it spreads, exactly what is does, more focus on what not to do (as well as what to do), and, most importantly, a direct point-out to one's curiosity, either in articles, on television, or online, like this: "If you think that there is ANY possibility that it could be, or contain, a virus, then restrain any urges you have from opening the attachment, and delete the message altogether immediately to avoid future cravings to open the file." Put the warning in 7th grade language, using small words if need be, because it doesn't have to be "tie and suit" technical, but warnings should address one's level of curiosity as to opening an attachment, and include what should be done to get around the cravings.
 
Dippo said:
I think it would be easier to write a perfect OS than to get everyone to fully understand the need for security.

Just look at the last e-mail virus that went around. Lots of people (even after being told not to time after time) clicked on the attachment. :rolleyes:
And if there was another e-mail virus that went around, I am sure they would click on it again!
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In my opnion, anybody who clicks on an attachment (from anonymous persons) nowadays deserves to not have a computer. I should make a virus that erases the whole HD, that would teach them (j/k, I don't know how to write a virus). People are so stupid when it comes to computers; the average Windows user does three things:
1)Play the occasional game of solitaire
2)Writes a paper in Word
3)Looks at porn on the internet

And I still have my doubts as to weather or not that was the person who wrote it.


Edit: heres an alternate story at CNN that goes into a little more detail
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/05/08/sasser.arrest.ap/index.html
 
It upsets me that there is such a negative stereotype on people who live with their parents. It is a great way to build a sound financial base instead of starting a life of debt. If more people wouldn't feel so pressured to get their own house, (or pay their own rent), they would be able to leverage their money on investments instead of throwing it away needlessly.
 
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