Educate new employees about virus hoaxes the easy way

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Summaries & snapshots

Rob Rosenberger, editor
Computer Virus Myths home page
www.kumite.com/myths
Office: 214 8th Avenue S., P.O. Box 50, Wellman, IA 52356
Phone: (319) 646-2800

Insider knowledge

Webmaster's candid self-assessment. A professional industry observer who now fights virus hysteria as a full-time job. Does not work for or invest in antivirus companies. Enjoys media attention but does not agressively pursue it. Previously a hobbyist industry observer (1988-1999) employed by day as a typical corporate computer security analyst. Correctly dismissed as an altruistic nobody until 1997 when this website started to impact Wall Street antivirus stock prices.
What's kumite.com? "Kumite" means "to fight" in the martial arts world. ("Fight myths," get it?) It's pronounced KOO-mih-tay, similar to the way you pronounce karate as KAH-rah-tay.
Server details. It doesn't matter if you surf to www.kumite.com or kumite.com: the server recognizes both. It talks directly to the ATM cloud and I get unlimited bandwidth in my domain contract. Don't worry about swamping the website with visitors.
Don't like frames? The entire website operates the old-fashioned way if you surf to http://www.kumite.com/myths/home.htm.

Website summary descriptions

10 words... Computer Virus Myths: learn about the hoaxes and urban legends.
25 words... Computer Virus Myths home page: everything you always wanted to know about computer virus hoaxes and urban legends, but were too afraid (literally!) to ask.
50 words... Computer Virus Myths home page: everything you always wanted to know about computer virus hoaxes and urban legends, but were too afraid (literally!) to ask. Maintained by Rob Rosenberger, one of the "original" virus experts from the 1980s. The website is not supported by antivirus advertising.

The media calls each of these events a "cyber war." What word will they trivialize when something worse comes along? Perhaps "cyber genocide" or "cyber holocaust"?
[top secret] vs. Liberia
China vs. Taiwan (and more recently) Taiwan vs. China

Other recent "cyber wars"
Australia vs. Australia!
USA vs. Australia
[top secret] vs. USA
India vs. Pakistan
East Timor vs. Indonesia (declared, then postponed) *a related cyber war:* Indonesia vs. Ireland
USA vs. Yugoslavia
Serbia vs. NATO
China vs. NATO
China vs. Canada

Questions reporters frequently ask me

I'd like to interview you. How can I get in touch?
Where do you work? I want to say more than just 'webmaster of the Computer Virus Myths home page.'
I just received a press release from an antivirus company. What should I look for?
My boss assigned me to write a story about computer viruses. Who should I contact?
I need to review one or more antivirus programs. How should I proceed?
What kind of 'spin control' did you recommend to the media after the 1996 Hare fiasco?

I'd like to interview you. How can I get in touch?

Call my office at (319) 646-2800 or or send me an email. If you put "[reporter]" in the subject line, it will trigger an alert on my screen. Check out my pithy quotes if a deadline won't wait and you can settle for a few generic statements.

Looking for an on-air interview? I sound crisp on 'night owl' radio, I can think on my feet during call-in shows, and I clean up well for TV. I live a few miles outside Iowa City if you want to do a satellite interview. I won't burn up any extra time to plug a book or hawk services during the interview.

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"Where do you work? I want to say more than just 'webmaster of the Computer Virus Myths home page.' "

I turned this website into a full-time crusade if you can believe it. I opened a professional office near my home where I fight virus hysteria from 9 to 5. Check out my bio to learn how I reached this point.

Don't hesitate to drop me from your story if an editor demands better-sounding credentials. (Antivirus firms need free publicity much more than I do, anyway.) You can always list this website in a "web resources" sidebar.

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I just received a press release from an antivirus company. What should I look for?

Does the press release warn of a new computer virus threat? Many companies use the threat of global computer catastrophe to hook you into reading further. Look for this key opening phrase: "the new [sexy name] virus will wreak havoc on [specific date]."

Does the press release claim this new virus "can avoid detection by many anti-virus products"? Many firms will imply competitors' products cannot yet deal with this new threat. Surf to other antivirus company websites to see if they already posted an update. If not, then wait three days -- copycats may send out a press release implying only they can detect the new threat.

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My boss assigned me to write a story about computer viruses. Who should I contact?

Antivirus firms make themselves available to reporters because your story amounts to valuable free advertising. Try to talk to researchers who don't work for antivirus firms. Question his/her credentials, too: you don't want a pseudo-expert. Avoid network administrators, computer repairmen, college computer teachers, and others whose jobs touch on "computer security" in vague ways. Quite a few consider themselves experts just because they know how to use antivirus software. Some salesmen feel like experts because they sell antivirus software.

Likewise, avoid marketing personnel at antivirus firms. Secretaries transfer media-related calls to them as a force of habit, so you need to question the person's credentials before you get started with an interview.

The virus field contains numerous subfield specialties if you want to give your story a special angle. Sarah Gordon interviews virus authors, for example. Ross Greenberg wrote the first genuine antivirus for IBM PCs. Andy Hopkins used so-called "heuristic techniques" in the mid-1980s (antivirus firms rediscovered it in the mid-1990s). Wolfgang Stiller focuses on data integrity. I focus on hoaxes & myths.

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I need to review one or more antivirus programs. How should I proceed?

Unfortunately, it still doesn't matter how you proceed -- no generally accepted testing paradigms exist for antivirus software. The International Computer Security Association and the University of Hamburg each hope to create valid testing paradigms, but the media doesn't always turn to them. I believe their efforts will ultimately prove fruitful; even if you don't use their services, please contact them for useful insights. (return to top)

What kind of 'spin control' did you recommend to the media after the 1996 Hare fiasco?

I told one puzzled reporter to find all the antivirus company press releases, sort them by date, then keep any which say the new virus "is able to avoid detection by many anti-virus software products." Count those press releases, pull the last one from the stack, then write the following spin-control paragraph:

"Many antivirus companies misled reporters by implying only their product could eradicate the virus. A press release from [company], for example, makes this claim even though [number] competitors beat them to the punch days earlier with similar press releases."

Pros: you can blame antivirus firms by name for using scaremonger tactics. Cons: savvy readers will question why you investigated all of the hyperbole after the fact. (return to top)

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