Interview with Pockets
[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?

Lore - The word stands for something fabled, may not be true, and is passed down among believers. I thought that fit me, as it seems I dissapear without knowing a lot.
Pockets - Someone started calling me this a while ago when they noticed I carry wierd shit in my, guess what, Pockets. There were 2 reasons for it: no one can steal stuff in my front Pocket, and it's hard to lose something that swings freely with your pecker.
Gabriel - As in the angel, Angelo (not that I'm religious).
CatsClaw - I don't remember.

Do you fit the geeky virus writer stereotype?

Virus writers have a geeky stereotype? Oh man!

What religious beliefs do you hold?

I am God, the Universe, and Everything.

What sort of music do you listen to?

Pink Floyd, Creed, Tool, The Doors, Rush.

How did you find out about computers?

Waaaay back, my friend showed me this thingy called a NES. It was neat. He soon got a 16MHz 286. I played BBS doors at his house. I found myself a TRS-80. Played with it. That sucked. Got myself a 486sx50 from Packard Bell. Almost immediately learned x86 Intel style assembly.

How did you discover computer viruses?

Looooong time ago, got myself a copy of Doom2. There was this thing called doom2gun with it. Someone noticed mine was bigger. I decided to be a neat lil person and I edit.com'd it. TaiPan.666! I never was infected, but it was neat. So I got F-PROT, poked at it. Soon put my assembly to work.

What was your first virus like?

I wrote a very very bad first virus ;)

Why did you start writing viruses?

I started because viruses were "taboo" in 1992, and everyone feared them. I learned they were painfully simple, and I decided I had to fix that.

How do you name your viruses?

I take the nearest hard object that I can lift, and hit myself in the noggin until something appears.

Which programming languages have you been fluent in?

Intel assembly language, Tandy BASIC :) I tried to learn Pascal once, I decided it was too gay to bother with.

How do you like to lay out your source code?

Face down, all over my bed. Then I roll around in it.

What are your thoughts on destructive code?

People can do what they wish, but destructive code is self destructive. If you're creating a living, replicating organism, it makes no sense to give it a suicide button.

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

I have aquired a base case of twitches, and abuse drugs regularly, all because of virus writing. But seriously, no, they haven't affected my life.

Which AV software do you use yourself?

I proudly use, nothing. Linux doesn't have many intelligent viruses :) I used to really like F-PROT. It was professional, did a decent job, and didn't cost money for personal use.

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

I think it's a process of evolution in itself. A lot of computer programs these days are written in things like ANSI C. Why? Because it's easy to port, easy to maintain, and good for "group" projects. Also, a virus in ANSI C could be ported to each and every useable platform these days. That includes the first DEC Alpha virus, first M68000 virus, etc. Anything that runs Linux can be infected with a decently written ANSI C virus.

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

A few of my ex-girlfriends know. My mother knows. Nobody really cares, as long as I don't use their computers for beta spawning :)

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

I'd be me. Or one of those lil water-drinking birds. Why? Cos I like me. And those birds are just neat.

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

A stone gargoyle. I'd look decently nice, pretty up a building, and I could look down at those pesky, confusing things called humans every day.

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

No. If you're dumb enough to chain your life to a machine, you've accepted the risk in user, maintenance, and production flaws.

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

"He showed us he wasn't afraid to die."

Your thoughts on viruses and the law.

Legally, I consider viruses as vandalism. It's like the art of graffiti, with no permanent marks. Both forms of vandalism can be beautiful and intruiging, but are still vandalism.

Who are your favourite virus writers?

Authors: Methyl [because he wasn't too pompous], Yosha [because he tried new things for fun], CyberYoda [because he was in for the life and learning], Vecna [because he worked with what he had], and all the unnamed guys, because they let their life breed without paternity and in mystery.

What virus technologies interest you the most?

Anything involving evolution and self mutation. Also, anything that relies on more than 1 medium for seed planting [ie: FTP as well as user stupidity].

Your advice to those just beginning.

Don't give in, or up.

What you think lies in the future of virus coding?

Disaster and plague, as new proprietary "technologies" are released, and more platforms become "compatible" with each other [ie: what Linux and Java are doing now].

Describe the perfect virus.

The one you can't see, that only dies when it runs out of hosts, and has no author to update it.