# Why do people author worms and viruses? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708 "2003-08-26T07:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/1 "2003-08-26T07:55:47Z")
I’m not looking for semantical, diagnoses here. Is there any practical reason for some bastard to start a worm/virus? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/2 "2003-08-26T08:07:16Z")
Leaving aside those that may be done for terrorism or commercial reasons, you’ll notice the authors are almost always young men. So I view it as the modern equivalent of kicking over gravestones:- it leaves a mark, shows strength (now computing skill), gets them status in their in-group. Nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/3 "2003-08-26T08:16:37Z")
They have small penises. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/4 "2003-08-26T08:21:31Z")
I think that the “tiny penis” issue is quite obvious, why the hate toward EVERYONE? ---
**Author:** ![Swagman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Swagman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swagman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/5 "2003-08-26T09:37:21Z")
The only practical reason would seem to be the respect of your peers but this latest SoBig variation has been so successful you wonder if it’s not gone beyond gaining repect and is simply now the product of a sick mind. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/6 "2003-08-26T09:39:06Z")
To get to the other sialkfdliasdfklea\*\*\*\*(w#f;aodz(). JOKE ERROR. JOKE ERROR. JOKE ERROR. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/7 "2003-08-26T09:39:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Swagman \* > \*\*The only practical reason would seem to be the respect of your peers but this latest SoBig variation has been so successful you wonder if it’s not gone beyond gaining repect and is simply now the product of a sick mind. \*\* Naah. The more successful they are, the more dicksize respect they accumulate. Unless, of course, it’s all done by Norton… you know it’s true… fnord. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/8 "2003-08-26T10:02:58Z")
Same reason people do graffiti. It’s a ‘look at me’ attempt at gaining status and reputation. As **AndreweT** noted, it’s usually young men who produce them who are at an age where establishing status and peer position is very important. Usually they have no other “talents” that they can use to gain status than a interest in computers. Establishing status in IT through legitimate is difficult. It takes time and _real_ talent. So virus writing appears to be the equivalent of “Get Rich Quick” schemes. Unfortunately it’s no fun being the virus writer that brought the internet to its knees unless you can brag about it, which is just the thing to get police officers knocking on your door. Doesn’t matter how smart you’ve been, you’re still relying on a bunch of other young males keeping their mouths shut, which isn’t going to happen. So ultimately it’s a self destructive course of action. The ‘tiny penis’ explanation is glib and dumb. Juvenille insults aren’t going to deter or explain virus writers. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/9 "2003-08-26T10:37:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > \*\*The ‘tiny penis’ explanation is glib and dumb. Juvenille insults aren’t going to deter or explain virus writers. \*\* It was a joke, mmm’kay? I do, however, feel that virus writing comes in part from low self-esteem and the kind of self-image generally found in persons who would, if they had small penises, have low self-esteem as a result thereof. These [words from a former warez d00d](http://www.faqs.org/docs/jargon/W/warez-d00dz.html) sum it up pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/10 "2003-08-26T11:33:42Z")
In much the same way that it’s actually the police who do graffiti, the viruses are done by Virus protection companies to keep their business in demand. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/11 "2003-08-26T14:47:30Z")
Most, I think, just enjoy the challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/12 "2003-08-26T16:01:26Z")
For the same reason people climb mountains. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/13 "2003-08-26T16:11:23Z")
No, **handy** and **Crafter\_Man** , those people write programs that are actually, you know, useful. If virus writers really wanted a challenge they’d find a real problem and solve it. ---
**Author:** ![High\_Deity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9a140/32.png) [@High\_Deity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/High_Deity)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/14 "2003-08-26T16:45:14Z")
i think i’ll take a shot in the dark… they are bored. be wary of the 14 year old genius with a computer and nothing to do. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/15 "2003-08-26T17:00:42Z")
Power, it gives a feeling of power which is what all men like. Arsonists, serial killers, virus writers, politicians, Bill Gates, all enjoy one thing: the feeling of power. ---
**Author:** ![frixxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@frixxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frixxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/16 "2003-08-26T17:00:47Z")
The best example of hacker mentality that I can add to this forum is this little known (smirk, smirk) letter that has shown it is sever boredom that drives these people: \*\*The Conscience of a Hacker "by Mentor Written on January 8, 1986 Another one got caught today, it’s all over the papers. “Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal”, “Hacker Arrested after Bank Tampering”… Damn kids. They’re all alike. But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950’s technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of the hacker? Did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him? I am a hacker, enter my world… Mine is a world that begins with school. I’m smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me… Damn underachiever. They’re all alike. I’m in junior high or high school. I’ve listened to teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. “No, Ms. Smith, I didn’t show my work. I did it in my head.” Damn kid. Probably copied it. They’re all alike. I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a second, this is cool. It does what I want it to. If it makes a mistake, it’s because I screwed it up. Not because it doesn’t like me… Or feels threatened by me… Or thinks I’m a smart ass… Or doesn’t like teaching and shouldn’t be here… Damn kid. All he does is play games. They’re all alike. And then it happened. A door opened to a world rushing through my phone line like heroin through an addict’s veins, an electronic pulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought… a board is found. “This is it… this is where I belong.” I know everyone here… even if I’ve never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again… I know you all. Damn kid. Tying up the phone line again. They’re all alike. You bet your ass we’re all alike… we’ve been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak… the bits of meat that you did let slip through were pre-chewed and tasteless. We’ve been dominated by sadists, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert. This is our world now… the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn’t run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. We explore… and you call us criminals. We seek after knowledge… and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religious bias… and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it’s for our own good, yet we’re the criminals. Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for. I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can’t stop us all… After all, we’re all alike. Or if you like graphics: [http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html](http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html) ---
**Author:** ![InquisitiveIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3ec8ea/32.png) [@InquisitiveIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InquisitiveIdiot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/17 "2003-08-26T17:02:32Z")
I can think of three reasons: 1. To show that you’re leet, even if (hopefully) no one knows it’s you. 2. Because the feeling of releasing some creation of yours into the wild and having it be wildy successful is cool. 3. Because with every virus, worm, or exploit that abuses a loophole in Outlook, a few more companies are saying “That’s it, we’re switching to Linux.” ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/18 "2003-08-26T17:16:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by High Deity \* > \*\*i think i’ll take a shot in the dark… they are bored. be wary of the 14 year old genius with a computer and nothing to do. \*\* It doesn’t take a genius to write a virus. Most viruses are simple adaptations of other viruses. Many viruses are sloppily designed and very poorly coded. The “successful” ones are usually just the ones that happened to be in the right place at the right time. Real 14 year old geniuses are writing their own code to do something interesting and productive. Not necessarily something legal, but at least productive. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/19 "2003-08-26T17:20:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by frixxxx \* > \*\*The best example of hacker mentality that I can add to this forum is this little known (smirk, smirk) letter that has shown it is sever boredom that drives these people: \*\* A hacker is not a virus writer. _Damn computer nerds, they are all alike???_ ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708/20 "2003-08-26T17:30:10Z")
Apple does it to make Windows look bad. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-author-worms-and-viruses/197708.md?page=2)