CHOOPER@acad.cut.oz (Todd Hooper) (01/31/90)
> Date: Thu, 25 Jan 90 12:08:35 -0500 > From: woodb!scsmo1!don@cs.UMD.EDU > > Should it be illegal to own or transmit virus source (for non-security > personnel)?? > <etc etc> A storm in a teacup I'm afraid. What possible technique could you use to make it 'illegal to own or transmit virus source'? I mean, if in the U.S. you can buy books on homemade weapons from machine guns right up to nerve gas and atomic bombs, I can't see the U.S. Government being able to successfully crack down on people swapping virus source code. It seems to be a common practice on this newsgroup/mailing list to assume guilt until shown otherwise. E.g. 'Morris is guilty writing the Internet Worm', before a verdict has been handed down. Statements such as 'Anyone who has virus source code must be a criminal' are of a similar ilk. XPUM01@prime-a.central-services.umist.ac.uk (Dr. A. Wood) writes: > If James Huang is Taiwanese, then his first and most familiar language > is likely not English but Chinese, and likely he committed no computer > ethical error but merely a language blunder, namely the common capital > offence of 'unclear use of a pronoun'! <WOODB!SCSMO1!DON@CS.UMD.EDU>, > in the course of emptying his flamethrower down the computer link at > the unfortunate Huang, seems to imply that Huang meant "I want to > spread VAX virus". But Huang could also have intended to say "I want > to spread news about how to notice and combat VAX virus" > > - - which is what Virus-L is for!! I couldn't agree more. Get off the poor guys back! - -- Todd Hooper Computing Centre Curtin University of Technology PSImail: psi%050529452300070::CHOOPER Western Australia ACSnet : CHOOPER@acad.cut.oz Bitnet : CHOOPER%acad.curtin.edu.au%munnari.oz@cunyvm.bitnet UUCP : {enea,mcvax,uunet,ubc-cs,ukc}!munnari!acad.curtin.edu.au!CHOOPER Phone : +61 9 351 7467 (24 hour messaging system) Fax +61 9 351 2673