Microsoft drops MSBlast writer's $500,000 penalty

[whatthe]

Huh???

$500,000/225hr=$2222.22/hr. What could this person possibly do for society that is worth that much per hour.

It's fine for Microsoft to want to do that but don't they have an obligation to all the people using MS products who were affected by this guy. They should be seeking the strongest retribution possible as a means to help prevent this crap.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5...=zdfd.newsfeed

[SirDice]

As we say here in Holland: "Van een kale kip kun je niets plukken". Roughly translated it says: "You cannot pluck a bare chicken". MS probably figured it's going to take ages for that 19 year old kid to cough up half a million dollars. So they went for the next best thing. Make him suffer by having him wash old folks or something similar

[whatthe]

I agree with that point but isn't 225 hours a little small for half a million dollars? He's probably going to make a couple of bucks an hour in prison, they should at least make him donate that to charity or something.

For the people out there who had to spend the time to clean your networks up after this, what do you think?

[zencoder]

I say we castrate him....give him the old 'Bob Barker' treatement...

</obscure Shrek 2 reference>

[NeuTron]

If people like this guy didn't exist, a big percentage of the people on this site would be without a job. I sure hope that people continue to write viruses...its called job security. Think about how much money went into the pockets of IT professionals because of the Blaster worm. It provided some much needed stimulation to the IT economy. Also he pointed out, dramatically for sure, that Microsoft was severely lacking in the security department. The result? A more secure OS. Im not saying he should be looked up to in any way, but he shouldn't be hung either.

[KorpDeath]

Sorry but IMHO that's not job security that's akin to some diseased guy running around spreading it. You call that job security for doctors? No, sorry that's a bit short sighted. Without this type of deviant behavior the world would be better off. There's no gain by allowing these @ssholes their 15 minutes of fame.

[NeuTron]

Originally posted here by KorpDeath
Sorry but IMHO that's not job security that's akin to some diseased guy running around spreading it. You call that job security for doctors? No, sorry that's a bit short sighted. Without this type of deviant behavior the world would be better off. There's no gain by allowing these @ssholes their 15 minutes of fame.

Computers dont die, like people. So your analogy is a bit exagerated. There will always be the Darkside and there will always be The Light. A healthy balance between the two is what makes the use of the force possible ... but seriously, I feel that for economic reasons, we need people causing trouble. Sorry if that opinion isn't hippie enough

[thehorse13]

TheHorse13 raises his hand to volunteer his trouble maker skillz

What's the one model we all know and understand?
Virus writers fuel the AV industry.
Criminals fuel the law enforcement community.
Haxors fuel the security sector.

You get the idea. If there weren't trouble makers, there wouldn't be an industry. Be thankful, otherwise you may still be slinging big macs at the drive-thru.

WERD.

[RoadClosed]

I've had this job long before computer viruses came along.

to add to horse's list

pr0n media fuels the need for more bandwidth.

[!mitationRust]

Tk thought he’d be larger_ than _life and remove the skiddie trap, add his own little flavor of code in, plus his sig. You gotta hate people like this. Tk wasn't targeting a single individual for a specific contemplated objective. True to the characteristics of an authentic skiddie, he was indiscriminately targeting everyone with a pointless objective, except just to be a little, malicious, bitch. If he wasn't a minor, there could be a gangbang on that bitch in prison for all I care.