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Memorable Quotes
Some are witty, a lot are just plain dumb - and most point the finger.
I'm thanking Byron for sharing his computer and ideas, book and time, I'm using his computer every Saturday and Sunday just to write this program. And to all GRAMMERSoft especially LIENQ, I know what the hell of hacking we are all doing but nevertheless it is still legitimate learning.
- Michael I. Buen
I think. I speak. I love. I write. I create. I design. I take photographs. I am a Leo. I drink beer. I hang out. I smoke. I play. I wish. I live. I love. I play billiards. I do lunches and dinners. I love the theater. I watch movies. I desire Brendan Fraser. I play darts. I climb mountains. I dream. I hurt. I listen. I feel. I live. This is my world.
- Irene de Guzman
As you clean up your Registry and replace your damaged files, just keep a few things in mind:- Microsoft just wants to be free to innovate and to bring great software to consumers.
- We wouldn't have great software like Windows and Office if Microsoft hadn't violated anti-trust laws.
- 'CmdrTaco'
It amuses me that there is a possibility that someone who may have been dumb enough to leave traceable information within the comments of a virus (including the line 'I hate go to school' (sic), which makes me wonder about his age too) is still able to exploit the even greater stupidity of whoever at Microsoft decided that Outlook being able to run VB attachments was a good idea.
- 'kilinrax'
Either this is a setup, either the government needs a scapegoat, or the real author is misdirecting the authorities... or this guy is the king of all idiots and desperately deserves to be caught and removed from the gene pool. Think about it for a sec. The media (CNN, AP, and Fox at least) were reporting ALL WEEKEND that authorities suspected him, but they could NOT get a search or arrest warrant because the courts were closed. With two days warning, if he left enough evidence that they really DID arrest him today, he's too dumb to breed anyway, and deserves to be caught. All of which assumes, of course, that the cops are right, and the computer guys who tracked Melissa are wrong - which is admittedly a rather dubious assumption at best, but WTF.
- 'SvnLyrBrto'
Who on earth doesn't have at least some form of computer paraphernalia laying around the house? That remote control you use for the TV is pretty suspicious. Not to mention the fuzzy logic can opener. Hey, what about the kids furby?
- 'Rorshach'
I was a Microsoft sympathizer until just this moment. I've always opposed government action in this case, confident that the market would take care of itself. Big, inefficient corporations eventually collapse under their own weight, and although it looks slow to us, natural corrections are ultimately more efficient than artificial ones. I've also been sympathetic to Microsoft because I felt Gates was getting a bum rap from elite computer users (read Linux users). It's not his fault the majority of buyers are idiots. The ignorance of the marketplace is the real villain here. I'm not a programmer and I don't run a server, so Microsoft products do what I need done in a reasonable manner. So I have never jumped on the bash Gates bandwagon. But this, this is beyond the pale. This is the last straw. Allowing people to run Visual Basic scripts from email is dumb enough, but now Gates is using his own shitty programming as an excuse to keep the company together! This is like a boy murdering his parents and asking for pity because he's an orphan! Shameless audacity. Disgusting. 'Features' my ass.
- Michael Duff
If one of my employees had written this, they wouldn't work here... The code is muddled, there are variables that shouldn't exist, and he changes his mind about far too many things midstream. All in all, a pretty poor clone of that I-LUV-U virus. The only thing done correctly is the indentation.
- Product manager being shown a formatted version of ILOVEYOU
You mean they finally arrested Bill Gates? Woohoo! Dear Billy, I hope your cell mate is big and strong and treats you well. Enclosed please find 3 cakes of soap on a rope. Love, Mom.
- /. Reader
Does it sound reasonable to you that I can write a script to access YOUR address book? YOUR files? Can you think of ONE legitimate application for this feature?
- Federico Heinz
Why blame a 15yo kid when the real culprit is a multi-billion dollar software company's crappy software?
- Mike Currie
Why don't they kill these things before they get to the users?
- 'cyberlotnet'
Somehow I don't think we will ever get the real story on this one, but the real culprits will remain unpunished. Those persons are the corporate IS folk who blindly embraced the computer monoculture of Microsquish.
- 'HiyaPower'
Nobody gives Joe User good instructions how to shut off scripting in LookOut and Internet Exploiter. All media focus on how much damage has been done without really telling how to protect oneself. C'mon journalists. Simply tell your readers what to shut off!
- 'guran'
Hmm. I think I'll rob this store. On the way in I'll sign my name on their catalog mailing list, then I'll pose for a photo with the owner's kid, and once I've robbed the place I'll leave my business card in the 'get a free lunch' fish bowl on my way out. I is a very clever thief, isn't I?
- Staciebeth, /. Reader
Re: 'You should never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity' - would this include using Exchange and Outlook as your corporate electronic mail standard?
- /. Reader
I heard some TV news this morning describe it as 'a wakeup call'. Forgot Melissa already, eh? How many wakeup calls does it take? Methinks wakeup calls now come with a snooze control.
- /. Reader
Shouldn't they be arresting someone at Microsoft?
- /. Reader
VBS/LoveLetter and related viruses use Windows Scripting Host (WSH) to spread. By uninstalling WSH, your machine will become immune to attacks like this. However, you will not be able to use any VBS script files after doing this. Most users do not use VBS scripts for anything.
- F-Secure Advisory
I recognize that this virus caused a lot of damage and that something should be done about it, but the course of action that was taken was definitely wrong.
'What is the lesson here? That it's somehow wrong to spread a message of love and understanding throughout the world? A picture may be worth a thousand words, but what about a simple message of love? If all of my images and all of my music got replaced by messages from those who love me and care for me, I think my life would be much better.
'In fact, these people did us a favor. They created something that let us know our loved ones that we care for them simply by having them in our address books - we didn't even have to do anything. Shouldn't all love be this simple and easy and straightforward?
'But the true reason that I write this is that my eleven-year old daughter saw this story headline over my shoulder as I read it. She asked me if we can really be arrested just for loving people.
'What am I supposed to tell her? I used to be able to tell her no, but what now? 'No, unless you're in the Philippines'? 'No, unless you say it over email'? 'No, unless you have an Internet connection'? All of these answers are inadequate. The only teaching that this brings to our children is that unconditional love cannot and will not be tolerated by our society. What kind of lesson is that?
- /. Reader
Surely the BBC has responsibility to the truth, to explain fully? I have just watched your lead item on BBC News 24 and then read your headline article on the web. In neither do you take the time to explain that the danger lays with those running Microsoft Windows and Outlook. No, you use the blanket term 'computers'. If one particular car company manufactured a vehicle which could be caused to crash remotely would you write 'cars have this problem' or the more accurate 'company X cars have this problem'? This problem is the direct responsibility of the Microsoft designers in that they created an operating system and applications in which viruses thrive. That is the part of the story you should be telling.
- Gary Mitchell
As for what the Philippines will do with the guy, I'd hate to be in his shoes. Remember, the Philippines is the country that is most expanding its use of the death penalty (whereas most countries are banning it or continuing to enforce it for certain established crimes like murder). Legislators in the Philippines have recently called for the death penalty for negligent ferry operators (in response to the recent ferry disasters there). Perhaps we'll soon see calls for the death penalty for billion-dollar-in-losses virus writers?
- 'Slash'
Question: if the NBI had been watching this building since last Friday, why don't they have the computer the suspects must have thrown away?
- radsoft.net Reader
Twenty-two points, plus triple-word-score, plus 50 points for using all my letters. Game's over. I'm outta here.
- Bart 'Kwijibo' Simpson
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