Interview wth Spyda
by EXE-Gency
[January 2000]
Below is the results of an 'unforgiven style' interview between myself and Spyda. Spyda is one of a few UK virus programmers and a member of underground group Ultimate Chaos and writer of the excellent Final Chaos zine.
Give us a short description of who you are. (Handle, interests, occupation, music, films, location, marital status etc.)
Handle: Spyda
Interests: when on my computer; programming/coding, when outside, drinking, smoking, playing pool, i have a social life so it ain't that bad :)
Ocupation: bleh !
Music: drum n bass :)
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow...D'n'B? yuk!
rox0rs :P hehehe
What made you choose your handle?
when i first got onto the internet, i needed a handle, i went around using anything i could think of for a while when i was listening to a drum n bass tape with a MC called "Spider" on it, i thought he rocked and it went from there :)
Have you ever had any previous identities in the computer underground?
ahh. nah, none :)
When did you first get into computers?
i was about 11 or 12, i got an Atari 520 STE, but i used that for games only really
What operating system(s) are you currently running?
at the moment, Win98SE, but i hope to have Win2k running on another box in the next week or two
How and when did you first discover the computer underground?
hrmm, i started by going to alot of exploit sites, looking at real lame shit, for a while thinking it still worked, then i started reading more into it and actually found it interesting so i carried on digging and ended up where i am now, still digging :)
How did you first get into virus programming?
when i joined UC i didn't code viruses, i joined UC as the graphix guy, i was interested in viruses but never actually coded them, but, within a month or two of me been in UC i started coding viruses
Do you have an interest in the other components of the computer underground? (hack/phreak/warez etc.)
i find hacking interesting in terms of its ethics, and what you actually can class as "hacking" but i think that recently with the massive popularity of the internet, the hacking scene is starting to get clogged up with alot of bullshit. i have no interest in phreaking at all. warez... no comment :)
Do you consider yourself to be a criminal?
nope. if people see me as a criminal, that's how they see me, not as i see myself
Do the recent changes to virus writing law worry you?
hrmm, yeah, they do
Will it make you stop programmming viruses?
well, it'll make Spyda stop coding viruses
Do your friends/family/colleagues know about your interest in the computer underground?
some friends do, my family don't and at the moment i have no interests or reasons for telling them
What are your opinions on virii with destructive payloads?
depends i spose, i am mainly against them as i can't see the point in "kamikaze viruses", but if they demonstrate something new (like CIH did) i spose it can be beneficial to the VX scene in some ways
How did you get involved with the virus group Ultimate Chaos?
i got involved with by a string of emails sent between myself and Rhape after i sent him some graphics offering to help desing the old SOK (Source of Kaos) site with him
How many people are in the Ultimate Chaos group?
active members, i'd say 7 or 8 at the most
Do Ultimate Chaos concern themselves with virus programming only?
nope, we're stepping into the security field now
Have you been a member of any other groups?
nope, no other groups
What language(s) do you write viruses in?
hrmm, i'm learning ASM and trying to learn Win32ASM, but i code alot at the moment in VB and Delphi, so at the moment i've coded a couple of viruses/worms in VB/Delphi
Why did you start programmings? Was it because you wanted to write viruses?
nope, i originally started coding as a challenge to myself to see if i could do it, then for a while it was a case of seeing if i could better shareware programs and after that i just kinda did my own thing :)
What other languages can you program in?
ASM / Win32ASM (a little) / VB / VBA / Delphi
What do you think of viruses written in languages other that assembly?
well, alot of HLL viruses have done quite well, viruses like Toadie and VBS.Freelinks, so i can't say i'm against them
What groups do you value most highly?
in the virus scene, at the moment i'd say 29A but looking back you must meantion NuKe and Phalkon Skism
Which individual programmers to you value most highly?
virus coders past and present and in no order, MrSandman, Darkman, Rajaat, CIH author, VicodinES, Dark Avenger, Opic and Vecna. big 29A influence :) hehehe
What zines do you read regularly?
i read VX zines mainly, i don't normally read many other zines
What do you think of the virus scene? (Both in general and in the UK.)
there isn't much of a virus scene in the UK, as for the virus scene in general, there's way too many idiots getting into the scene with a "i wanna take the world over" atitude which obviously is not good
How has the underground scene changed since you first entered?
hrmm, i haven't been in as long as some others, but i have noticed a change, mainly due to the Melissa incident
What do you think the future of virus writing holds?
i really don't know, at the moment, i see VX will always be on top of AV, i can't see that changing at the moment either
Do you believe in a 'perfect virus'? And if so describe it.
No, i don't think there can be a perfect virus. In order for it to be perfect, it must be perfect in everyone's eyes, and i can never see an infected user thinking that the virus that just infected their system is perfect
What advice would you give to newbies entering the virus scene?
read the #virus FAQ (http://www.coderz.net/virus) if you have any intentions of joining virus, just so you don't ask stupid questions
What language(s) do you think newbies should start writing viruses in?
i really think it is up to the person, purists would say ASM/Win32ASM but i really do believe if you're good at a certain language, stick with it, just look at Bubbleboy, that wasn't coded in ASM...
Any greets/thankyous?
yeah, greets (in no order) too: Rhape79, PaX, MidNyte, Gigabyte, Clau, Evul, MrSandman, Darkman, peon, BSL4, Phage, Tally, Zulu, HomeS|ice, Del_Armg0, ProGen, Infra Red and DarKPaiN hehehe
Any plugs? (Homepage, email address, zines)
http://www.ultimatechaos.org <-- Go there now :) or if you wanna see my humble little offering --> http://www.ultimatechaos-security.co.uk
spyda@ultimatechaos.org | spyda@ultimatechaos-security.co.uk | spyda@itookmyprozac.com hehehehe
Anything you would like to add?
Nope, just thanx for the interview :)
Thanks for being interviewed Spyda