Students Learn To Write Viruses

snocrossgjd writes "In a windowless underground computer lab in California, young men are busy cooking up viruses, spam and other plagues of the computer age. Grant Joy runs a program that surreptitiously records every keystroke on his machine, including user names, passwords, and credit-card numbers. Thomas Fynan floods a bulletin board with huge messages from fake users. Yet Joy and Fynan aren't hackers — they're students in a computer-security class at Sonoma State University. Their professor, George Ledin, has showed them how to penetrate even the best antivirus software."

Comments

Re:zomg zomg first prost!

[Anonymous Coward]

I love the smell of burning karma in the morning.

Smells like... victory.

Re:Social Engineering VS Computer Sci

[MindlessAutomata]

I'd like to take a course on penetration. I might actually learn something.

Re:Sounds pretty cool

[Pictish Prince]

Well, they said it was a windowless class, so I guess it's higher than entry level.

Viruses in a WINDOWsless environment ?

[destinationPattern44]

"In a windowless underground computer lab in California, young men are busy cooking up viruses" it's IMPOSSIBLE! Viruses need Windows and they won't run in a Windowsless environment.

Re:Social Engineering VS Computer Sci

[TubeSteak]

I'd like to take a course on penetration. I might actually learn something.

Unlike college courses, those 'teachers' charge by the hour.

Though if you are in college, you could take it as an... extracurricular.

Re:speaking of penetration...

[azuredrake]

Thomas Fynan floods a bulletin board with huge messages from fake users.

Ah-hah! Got ya!