Who writes viruses?
There really isn’t a generic virus writer. There are pre-adolescents, teenagers, college students, grown-ups working in corporate environments. They are mostly male, although female participation is increasing. It’s difficult to say how “intelligent” a group of people is when they are so varied and “intelligence” can be defined many different ways, can’t it? As for socioeconomic status, it’s pretty much across the board as well. If I had to pull out characteristics, I’d say predominantly male. .. generally 13 to 26. .. (with) normal relationships with peers.. .. I must stress that stereotypes much beyond this could stifle solving the problem. Q: What motivates them? A: Virus writers are motivated by a number of factors. Among them (are) the desire for recognition, a perceived technical challenge, peer pressure and desire to fit in, revenge, social-political causes, a desire to demonstrate weakness in the technologies, curiosity, etc. Q: What deters them? A: When some kids somewhere are
