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Microsoft Drops Blaster Author's Fine

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the slap-on-the-wrist dept.

bevo noted that Microsoft has dropped their fine against the author of the Blaster worm that DDoS'd Microsoft's web sites and hijaacked 50,000 computers. 225 hours instead of a 500k fine. $2200/hour seems like a good deal to me ;)

10 of 312 comments (clear)

  1. Could've been worse by fembots · · Score: 5, Funny

    Luckily the community service cannot involve computers, otherwise this guy will get away lightly by cleaning up roughly 50 spyware/virus-infected Windows machines to clock up 225 hours.

    --
    Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
  2. A "Get Out of Jail Free" card! by plover · · Score: 5, Funny
    From the article:

    U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman said the sentence reflected that although he was 18 at the time of the attack, his maturity level was much younger than that. She also said his home life contributed to the problem.

    Damn, that precedent means virtually everyone here on /. is immune from prosecution. For anything. Especially since "mom's basement" probably qualifies as a "home life".

    --
    John
  3. Can he reduce the worktime ... by Tribbin · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... by replacing himself by a shell script?

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    If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
    1. Re:Can he reduce the worktime ... by bonch · · Score: 5, Funny

      He's a script kiddie, so don't you mean "replacing himself with someone else's modified Visual Basic 6 project file he got from IRC?"

  4. This wasn't the Blaster author by r_glen · · Score: 5, Informative

    This was the guy who modified the Blaster worm. The original author never got caught.

  5. Re:And in the meantime... by Fjornir · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you had a box that caught blaster there is nothing preventing you from taking this kid to civil court for damages.

    --
    I want a new world. I think this one is broken.
  6. Re:Drops the fine? by Eradicator2k3 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That was *probably* a poor word choice. I would imagine that the $500K "fine" actually was damages awarded to MS. MS does have the option to recommend that the court replace the awarded damages (of which they would only see a fraction) with community service. IANAL, however and this is mere speculation on my part.

    --
    Mr. T pitied this fool on 27 July 1992.
  7. Re:Drops the fine? by Fjornir · · Score: 5, Informative

    MS didn't fine the kid, the court ordered him to pay 500k in restition. MS offered to let the kid sweat it off instead of paying cash. This is just a typical shitty slashdot writeup.

    --
    I want a new world. I think this one is broken.
  8. Get away lightly? by caryw · · Score: 5, Informative

    This kid still has to do 18 months in prison! 18 months! 13,128 hours! (linked from the same site)
    18 months is almost 10% of the time this kid has even been on the planet!
    Microsoft just helped him out by letting him live his life once he gets out of prison instead of being in debt for the next 40 years.
    I bet it's extremely hard for a convicted felon to work off a $500,000 debt.
    --
    Fairfax Underground: For residents of Fairfax County and Northern Virginia

    1. Re:Get away lightly? by norfolkboy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "I bet it's extremely hard for a convicted felon to work off a $500,000 debt."

      Since the fine is a civil issue, and not a criminal issue, if the criminal has any sense, he'll petition for his own bankruptcy before he goes into jail, and be debt-free by the time he leaves. ... or is that not how it works in USA?