🚀 go-pugleaf

For several weeks we have been monitoring the discussion in comp.virus
and elsewhere concerning the AIDS "trojan".  There has been much
discussion about the motives of the author in publishing this virus,
and the general surprise that the accompanying program was quite
sophisticated.

We have recently received a copy of the AIDS trojan with the
accompanying license agreement, and upon reading this agreement I am
drawn to make several points.  Needless to say, this copy was not
installed.  Let me quote some of the relevant passages from the
license agreement:

"Read this license agreement carefully.  If you do not agree with the
terms and conditions stated below, do not use the software, and do not
break the seal (if any) on the software diskette..."

"...you may not decompile, disassemble, or reverse-engineer these
programs or modify them in any way without consent from PC Cyborg
Corporation.  These programs are provided for your use as described
above on a leased basis to you; they are not sold.  You may choose one
of the following types of lease (a) a lease for 365 user applications
or (b) a lease for the lifetime of your hard disk drive or 60 years,
whichever is the lesser.  PC Cyborg Corporation may include mechanisms
in the programs to limit or inhibit copying and to ensure that you
abide by the terms of the license agreement and to the terms of the
lease duration.  There is a mandatory leasing fee for the use of these
programs; they are not provided to you free of charge.  The prices for
"lease a" and "lease b" mentioned above are US$189 and US$378,
respectively (subject to change without notice).  If you install these
programs on a microcomputer (by the install program or any other
means), then under the terms of this license you are thereby agree to
pay PC Cyborg Corporation in full for the cost of leasing these
programs.  In the case of breach of this license agreement, PC Cyborg
Corporation reserves the right to take any legal action necessary to
recover any outstanding debts payable to PC Cyborg Corporation and to
use program mechanisms to ensure termination of your use of the
program.  These program mechanisms will adversely affect other program
applications on microcomputers.  You are hereby advised of the most
serious consequences of your failure to abide by the terms of this
license agreement: your conscience may haunt you for the rest of your
life; you will owe compensation and possible damages to PC Cyborg
Corporation; and your microcomputer will stop functioning normally.
Warning: Do not use these programs unless you are prepared to pay for
them..."

End quote.

This is not a trojan: it is a COPY PROTECTION SYSTEM.  The
consequences of using the program without paying are quite adequately
laid out in the license, which apparently has not been read.  It warns
quite clearly that:

a)   You should not install this program unless you are going to
     pay for it.

b)   The program contains mechanisms that will ensure that the
     terms of this license agreement will be followed.

c)   That these mechanisms will affect other programs on the hard
     disk.

I am led to make the following conclusions:

1.   That all of the users who were adversely affected by this
     supposed trojan either (a) did not read the license
     agreement for the program which they were installing, or (b)
     they read it and ignored it.  Either way, they must accept
     the consequences.  The installation instructions first step
     tells you to read the agreement on the reverse of the sheet.

2.   That the people who have been harping on at length about
     this trojan did not bother to read the license agreement
     either.  I am left wondering if the "excitement" of this
     horrible "trojan" prevented them using some elementary logic
     to ask if the program may be something else.

3.   PC Cyborg laid out the consequences quite plainly in the
     license agreement.  It is a debatable point whether PC
     Cyborg would have sent the "defusing" program for the time
     bomb that this program installs, though the US invasion
     would have defeated any attempt to do this (the invasion was
     doubtless more illegal than this program).

4.   That the people hurriedly disassembling the program actually
     committed a breach of the license agreement, and are liable
     for legal action from PC Cyborg.  Equally, copying of this
     program is as illegal and is as much piracy as copying any
     commercial program.

I am stunned at the sheer volume of pointless garbage that this
program has generated, and it makes me seriously doubt any other
information received from these "experts".  I would also point out
that self-destructing programs are not new, but one has never caused
such an outcry before.

If the author of this program is convicted, it will be the first
conviction ever for the hidious crime of writing a copy protection
system, and will be one of the biggest farces of justice ever
witnessed.

Disclaimer:  These are my own opinions, and do not necessarily
             represent the opinions of my employers.

"AI is also an acronym for Artificial Ignorance"

Ian Farquhar                      Phone : (612) 805-7420
Office of Computing Services      Fax   : (612) 805-7433
Macquarie University  NSW  2109   Also  : (612) 805-7205
Australia                         Telex : AA122377

ACSNet ifarqhar@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz.au  ifarqhar@suna.mqcc.mq.oz.au