Interview with Owl
[late 1998]
[reproduced (with permission) from the Feathered Serpents Website]
[Check their site for possible updates]
[http://sourceofkaos.com/homes/owl]

How did you chose your handle?

Well, for a while, people called me Casper the unfriendly ghost because I was so pale ;) I decided I needed a better name... and saw a bottle of Methyl Lated Spirits on the shelf of a toilet. So, I decided to stay with the ghost theme.
After being Methyl for a very long time, and after leaving IR/G to start my own group, I decided I needed a new name. I love Owls, they are the best looking bird there is. They are hunters. They are also associated with wisdom, and lots of people who have been abducted by the Greys have screen memories of Owls. I want to be an Owl. So, I am Owl :) And I wouldn't trade my name for any other name in the world.

Do you fit the geeky virus writer stereotype?

If the stereotype is psychotic men who make bird and monkey noises to themselves and think the entire female half of the human race is out to get them, sign me up.

What religious beliefs do you hold?

Oh, sigh. I believe that evil exists, and I believe that good is losing, but worth fighting for. I believe in different dimensions and astral planes, I believe in aliens and the existence of Atlantis under the North Pole. I also believe in buried manuscripts beneath the paws of the Sphinx in Egypt, and I believe that life equals form, not matter.

What music do you listen to?

Garbage, The Doors, Tea Party, Crowded House, Super Jesus, Jameriquai, Celine Dion, Jewel, Helloween, Stratavarius, Dennis Leary. I also listen to some CDs with just bird/water sounds on it, but I HATE CDs that have all pan flutes and little MIDI sounds, etc, in top of the nature sounds. I won't listen to them.

How did you find out about computers?

My mother was dating a guy from the local telephone company for a few years, and he hooked me up with my first XT [40M HDD] and 1200BPS modem. I carried on through all of the processors of the Intel family, and now own a Pentium paid completely by my hard earned money.

How did you discover computer viruses?

I read articles in PC magazines about the availability of the "Little Black Book of Viruses" series by Mark Ludwig. Unfortunately, the idea of spending $60 or so on a book blew my mind back then [I would have been around 14?], and so I looked into alternative ways to learn about virus writing.
One thing led to another, I learned assembly language, I read Dark Angel's tutorials on COM/EXE infection, I read a lot of virus magazines, and I slowly crawled up the ladder of virus creation wisdom.

What was your first virus like?

My first released virus, Toilet Bowl, was named the worst virus of the year 1995. It wasn't too bad, a direct action COM infector that would refuse to be cleaned under TBCLEAN.
However, my first WORKING virus that was heavily criticized by Horde and KDKD, was the worst virus I've ever seen in my life [I no longer have it]. I didn't understand the idea of the LEA command, and so did all my offset calculations with "MOV DX, OFFSET THINGY - ADD DX, DELTA". It was bad.

Why did you start writing viruses?

I was interested in assembly language, and the control a computer virus has over it's host environment. I was hooked before I even started. It was fate.

How do you name your viruses?

I name a virus to be similar to it's dedication.

Which programming languages have you been fluent in?

Assembly, Visual Basic 1, C, C++, Turbo Pascal. Now I only know Assembly.

How do you like to lay out your source code?

I try my best to keep with a clean approach of lots of white space, and as many modules as possible. These days, you can sacrifice another 100 bytes of space to make a virus more modular, and it makes everything work better. Unfortunately, I've never been one to optimize my code as much as some, but I try at least.

What are your thoughts on destructive code?

I think that the longer a computer virus resides on a computer, the bigger chance of it interfering with something and causing suspicion. As far as I'm concerned, by destroying the host computer after replication, you decrease the chances of the user finding out the real cause. So, I'm all for well thought out destruction. As for mindless destruction though, why bother?

How has your virus writing impacted your 'real life'?

It's now a part of me ;) I'm bordering on paranoid with my notes on evolving virus technology, carrying it with me almost everywhere and keeping tonnes of photocopies in case something happens to the originals. Unfortunately, I don't trust anyone locally enough to keep the copies of the originals, in case they leak it for, selfish purposes. Ah well. And now, with the new goals of the Feathered Serpents, my life has taken a new turn, dedicated to good, instead of evil.

Which AV software do you use yourself?

I am not currently using any AV software. If I did, it would be either F-SECURE or AVP. Anything else just isn't up to scratch.

What are your thoughts about those who create viruses in non-ASM languages?

Macro viruses probably account for more in the wild infections these days than good old assembly language viruses, so I say, good for those who can do macro viruses. However, I think this will be extremely short lived, as Microsoft Office 2000 disables a lot of macro functionality by default.
As far as other languages go, I think assembly language will stay the defacto standard for virus creation for a long time yet. However, it's worth nothing that Inprise [Borland] hasn't released a new version of TASM in a suspiciously long time, and the end may be closer than I'd like to imagine.

Do others in your personal life know that you write viruses?

Two friends know, but don't really understand. Others I would like to tell, but wouldn't understand either. I did, however, give a speech about computer virus terrorism to a class of electronic engineering students at a local college, for 15 minutes. It was a classic when I pulled out my slides showing examples of SMEG polymorphic decryptors. At the end of the session, nobody had any questions, and nobody really spoke to me ever again ;)

If you could be any animate object, then what object would you be?

If I could be an animal, I would be an Owl.

If you could be any inanimate object, then what object would you be?

Tough call. On one hand, being a teddy bear means instant love. However, you also have to cope with drool and dust and being thrown around.

Your virus infection hits a hospital and kills someone... are you depressed?

Generally speaking, yes. But it'd have to happen for me to give a real answer.

If, and when you die, what do you want written on your gravestone?

Depends. If I find true love, then "He did his part to save the world from itself". If I don't find true love, and I die a bitter twisted old man, then "A life that wasn't worth living, he goes to the grave cursing the Earth for the bitter tomb it is".

Your thoughts on viruses and the law.

The law? Since when did I have a part in creating the law? Laws are there to protect the corrupt governments and corporations from being overrun by the people they crush on their way to the top. To hell with the law.

What virus technologies interest you the most?

I'm less interested in actual technology, and more on new ways of modelling viruses in assembly language. I'd like to reveal more, but that information is classified "Internal: FS members only". Sorry.

Your advice to those just beginning.

Learn assembly language. Don't give up. Do everything for the right reasons.

What you think lies in the future of virus coding?

I foresee more people joining virus groups to gain advantage of pooling of resources towards goals. I also foresee more in the way of group alliances and secure channels of information trade, to avoid the eye of the AV.

Describe the perfect virus.

Some acronyms for you: RHM, SVM [ECM], VPT. Roll them together and liberally apply hive mind thinking for networks. Bake for 1 hour, and let cool for 5 minutes. Come back, and it's already mutated to look like the table :)