[118861] in Cypherpunks
Re: I need a virus written for a good cause
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Stewart)
Sat Oct 9 06:44:31 1999
Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19991009032947.00a12d20@idiom.com>
Date: Sat, 09 Oct 1999 03:29:47 -0700
To: "onion" <onion@camalott.com>, cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Bill Stewart <bill.stewart@pobox.com>
In-Reply-To: <000701bf11c5$ea5c24c0$20606fd8@preferred-user>
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Reply-To: Bill Stewart <bill.stewart@pobox.com>
At 12:47 PM 10/08/1999 -0700, Fred L. Michaelis "onion"
<onion@camalott.com> wrote:
> I need a virus written.
> I do not want to wreck anyone's computer or do any kind of damage to anyone.
> What I want will benifit everyone but those in charge.
> I want to establish an offshore auction.
> I want it to be know over-night.
What you're proposing is to SPAM people in a way that,
whether you intend it or not, will damage some people's systems,
and will annoy a lot of people. The only way it's "better" than
regular spam is that it may be harder to trace (big deal).
It's taking advantage of other people's systems to send your message
in a way that's MUCH ruder than hijacking open mail relays.
If you've got something to send to individuals, send it yourself.
And if you want to broadcast, take a system that's designed for broadcast -
Usenet. Works just fine. Or use banner ads.
Furthermore, even if you have the best of misguided intentions,
other spammers will take advantage of the technology and use it themselves.
Give it up before Darwin gets you.
Thanks!
Bill
Bill Stewart, bill.stewart@pobox.com
PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639
