VIRUS CREATORS AND AUTHORS

Who creates viruses, worms, trojans, and why? The creators or authors of viruses and trojans can be divided into several classes, and the reasons are many. Viruslist.com describes the authors and their reasons lucidly.

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VIRUS AUTHORS/CREATORS

1. Novice Programmers: The students who have recently learned programming test their skills with small, perhaps hacked, programs. These contain a lot of errors and are easily killed. The motive is usually fun.

2. Graduated Programmers: This group is still learning programming, but is now consciously trying to write virus programs, honing its skills, and experimenting more seriously than before. The intention is now to really disrupt networks and create trouble for computer users. The advance of internet has given a boost to this group, with advice available easily from other professionals. About professionals, read below.

3. Professionals: The most dangerous breed has now developed to maturity. They write 90% of malware in circulation. Motives are now more concrete: financial gains through fraud and underground market.

4.Researchers: Their job is to find loopholes in systems and networks. To find that out, they need to write programs - viruses - that demonstrate the holes. Once these are disclosed, the opportunity is ripe for the professional to act.

WHAT DO THEY GAIN: VIRUS ADVANTAGES

A number of advantages make the profession go on, mostly by people who think of earning a decent bread for dinner. Some of these motives are:

1. Money: Stealing online credit numbers and passwords used in ebiz sites to make easy money.

2. Free Use: Stealing login and passwords of internet accounts to gain free access. These are done by trojans, and became famous in the late 90s. Remember that SE Asian student who wrote his project on this topic, and was arrested?

3.Marketing Business: Once trojans are installed on a network of computers, these can be used to send spam. This network can be 'sold' to buyers. Called Bot networks.

4. Cyber Extortion: Getting more serious, the bot network can be used to conduct orgainized attacks for blackmail purposes. One such type of attack could be a denial-of-service attack.