Comment Articles

Open letter to Virus 'owners'

Chris Long AnchorDesk

Published: 08 May 2000 15:03 BST

And this is isn't for all computer users, no just for some. Just for the people that, say, got the 'I Love You' virus and passed it on, the sort of people that got an uninvited attachment through the email from someone they maybe knew maybe didn't and then opened it. The sort of people that looked at the attachment that had a .VBS extension and ran it. In other words the people with the IQ of a pin mould.

From where I sit the Irish get a raw deal, we make lots of Irish jokes based on the premise that they are stupid and somehow people don't think they are racist -- well the people that tell them against the Irish don't think they are racist. But we have a much more stupid group of people: computer users. Did you hear about the computer user sea scout? Drowned putting his tent up. Did you hear about the computer user who burnt his ear while he was ironing -- the phone rang.

Works for me.

Of course we all do stupid things, I have done many stupid things myself. Suggesting to my last girlfriend that she should take evening classes in panel beating was a stupid thing, not only did she run off with a panel beater from Essex she did a terrible job of taking dents out of my car.

So I am no stranger to mistakes, I have O'levels in stupid mistakes, but what I don't do is run around like a headless chicken blaming everyone else after the event when I make one.

I was listening to the consistently marvellous Broadcasting House on BBC Radio 4 this Sunday morning when they read out an email from a listener, I think his name was Mr VeryStupid, he suggested that the I Love You virus was Microsoft's fault for writing email software that would allow the virus to happen. Of course, why didn't I think of that.