Aqua-Soft ForumsSasser Worm Creater NABBED!
i know. but i think he deserves a lot bigger punishment than that. he knows how much destruction it can make because he made it that destructive himself. he should be banished from any internet activities, and is forbidden to share not even a line of programing.
He was already nabbed. It's more like "Sasser Worm Creator PUNISHED!"
Good to hear it. I got that twice 
Old news... He was nabbed last year.
He got off easy because he was a minor (under 18) when he wrote the virus.
Personaly, he should have got the full 5 years. That "little program" he wrote caused me way too many sleepless nights cleaning up the mess it left behind.
it's nearlly like testing a nuclear bomb on new york. (WITHOUT TESTING EVER BEFORE SO THEY REALLY ONLY HAVE THEORETICAL RESULTS) it's just plain stupid. perfect analogy.
dosen't matter if you are a 16 year old guy, old 98 eight year old chessmaster, or 50 year old billionare, you are still responsible for what you have done. especially when you perfectlly know what you are doing. 10 years and up is definetlly, but it's still possible for 6-10 though. that age section is very controversial 
he messed my computer up a lot. making me lose all my precious files, and making me lose nearlly one night worth of rest, this guy should really learn his lessons, and have future idiot hackers have double the penalty for not accepting the warning.
Well now that his face is in the public, I hope every sys admin and techie that had to fix the mess he caused kicks him in the nuts if they see him.
I feel sorry for the dude, I caught the virus countless times when I still used windows pcs, but hell
if u know what ur doing you will get rid of it in 15 minutes at most, and 5 years in jail, especially
at that age can ruin your life.
I feel sorry for the dude, I caught the virus countless times when I still used windows pcs, but hellif u know what ur doing you will get rid of it in 15 minutes at most, and 5 years in jail, especially
at that age can ruin your life.
Yeah it was pretty easy to get rid of. And easy to stop. I was a bit disappointed in him. I was up for a challenge
Yea... try cleainig it off of 2,000 servers.
15 minutes times 2000 = 30,000 minutes or 500 hours.
I don't care how young he was... he commited a criminal act.
He should pay for it.
He got off on a technicality.
He may have created it when he was 17, but he released it on his 18th birthday.
Since he created it as a minor, he got prosecuted as a minor.
I think he should have been charged as an adult since he released it as one.
I agree with Hobbes, it wasn't very serious just something rather annoying.
I guess it is what you get for using a PC. 
I can't believe I'm reading this!?!
You guys feel sorry for this kid?
Do you know how much time and money he cost companies around the world to clean up his little "annoying" program?
Pathetic... absoloutly pathetic. I'm almost ashamed of you guys.
I can definately see both sides, especially knowing what you do rjohnstone, but I actually feel that the kid made one hell of a decision.
Over the course of a year, he made himself known to the world - something most of us won't do in a lifetime. He has clearly shown what he enjoys and although it was used in a negative way, he still made a name for himself.
Heck, it might be an excellent career move if he's allowed computer usage in a few years.
There are other, more constructive ways of getting ones name known.
Pissing off half the IT world is not one of them.
All he did was reverse engineer a patch... big deal, I do that everytime a new one comes out.
But then again, that's part of my job. A job that I got by working hard and not commiting a criminal act to obtain.
He's currently employeed by an anti-virus firm, ain't that a shocker.
EDIT: I guess I've monopolized this thread enough.
Say what you will... the kid may have skills, but doesn't poses a lick of common sense.
Probably why he got caught in the first place.
I agree with rjohnstone, he caused lots of damage. He should have been persecuted to the fullest extent so that others will learn this is not a game. There are so many out there, writing worms, because laws do not mean much to them. Do it like the old days, if you steal, cut off the hands of the thief. Next time someone tries to steal, they will have to think long and hard about doing it next time. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime! What if someone like him creates another worm/virus/trojan and makes it available to others. Script-kiddies will download and unleash garbage and cause more damage. They need to scare minors that spreading malicious applications to cause damage can send you to prison, whether you downloaded it or wrote it.
Yeah it sounds harsh, but it needs to be ... or people will keep writing viruses to gain fame or money. I mean, if you need money ... go work. Stop finding sleazy, easy ways to gain money.
I'm reminded of the quote "Easy come, Easy go!"
Interesting.....this is the first time i've heard of this virus......how the hell did yall get it......don't you have a virus scanner or spyware scanner?
Most people got it right when it was released because about a month later all the removal tools were available already. It's completely random, and everybody without a firewall was vulnerable. The simple WIndows XP firewall would stop it from getting in, though.
First rule of a virus scanner... the virus must be known or use known methods for the virus scanner to detect it.
If it's a brand new virus, not a variant of an existing one, I don't care how many scanners you have running, it will get through.
But yes, most firewalls would have stopped it, but all it takes is one idiot to bring his infected laptop to work and the firewall becomes useless.
That's how we got it, an unauthorized laptop was plugged into the corporate network an viola' all the perimeter defenses become useless. The gentleman/idiot is no longer employed with my company.
We were in the process of patching our systems, but unlike home users or small businesses, it can take weeks or even months to patch an entire fortune 500 companies corporate network.
You don't just slap any old patch on without regression testing it first to see what it will "fix", or in most cases, break.
There should of been a larger penalty for what he did..
that thing wiped out my pc a few years back
but personally i'd say they shouldn't charge him with anything
he owned me, fair and square
Do it like the old days, if you steal, cut off the hands of the thief. Next time someone tries to steal, they will have to think long and hard about doing it next time.
Try explaining that to the various human-rights organizations :slant:. Or, for that matter, to the eighth amendment (hell, even if you're not in America, the Geneva Convention, not that it dictates peacetime or criminal matters).
-NC
The Sasser Worm was a piece of modern art! and those of you who got it... well... that was a wake up call, secure your system, and you won't wind up getting viruses and worms.
The Sasser Worm was a piece of modern art!
Spare me... it was a reverse engineered patch.
secure your system, and you won't wind up getting viruses and worms.
Easier said than done. At the individual level... yes, piece of cake. At the major corporation level... takes time and a ton of $$$.
Remember, there is no such thing as a secure system.
Remember, there is no such thing as a secure system.
Permanently disconnecting your computer from the internet is a start, as well as removing the CD, diskette, zip, etc. drive, and encasing the cover with refined diamond...
But erm, yeah...that's not very feasible, is it?
-NC
I have to agree with john.
THink about it this way, you're working on your companies 1 of tons of servers, and then one of them gets a virus, then it spreads through out all of them. Well, you have to get the virus off and secure it. After spending hours and working overtime to get it done, an upgraded version gets into one of the computers and spreads again. Well you just got done cleaning up the first version. What the hell!? You have to do all that work over again. And every time a new revision came out, you had to do it again.
He should get punished for what he did. He made a massive virial infection.
It's not the home users who have trouble, but the companies and servers that get the worst of it.
I have to agree with john.THink about it this way, you're working on your companies 1 of tons of servers, and then one of them gets a virus, then it spreads through out all of them. Well, you have to get the virus off and secure it. After spending hours and working overtime to get it done, an upgraded version gets into one of the computers and spreads again. Well you just got done cleaning up the first version. What the hell!? You have to do all that work over again. And every time a new revision came out, you had to do it again.
He should get punished for what he did. He made a massive virial infection.
It's not the home users who have trouble, but the companies and servers that get the worst of it.
Well Kenta and John I'd have to agree with both of you to some extent... but there is one thing that you are forgetting! These same companies that you are talking about, are the same ones that are multi-billionares! They can afford good security! If a company has that many servers to worry about, then I am sure that they can for sure afford it, and personally as a Network administrator I believe that I and every other network administrator are all responsible for what happens to our networks and systems.
I personally wouldn't punish a person like him, I would rather hire him! Cause as we all know, there will ALWAYS be hackers who WILL peneterate our networks and infect us with worms and viruses. So if we could hire a person within those groups of people, that could really come in handy!
Shaking hands with the devil, will bring us success! I'm sure you know that agencies such as CIA or NSA don't just hire "security experts"... they hire Hackers straight from the same underground that everyone is afraid of!