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Linux Faithful Get It Wrong

As you probably know by now, the nasty myDoom (or pick your pseudonym) virus is the virus that has a payload that, among other things, attempts to DDOS the SCO Group's web site.

When this payload was first discovered, SCO and others said this was probably a disgruntled Linux person who was targeting SCO as payback for the litigation-happy company's anti-Linux lawsuits. SCO even offered a hefty bounty to get the author of the virus.

Recently, MessageLabs has announced the virulent code probably originated in Russia.

OK.

But - for reasons that escape me - there seems to be a lot of Linux folks out there who are saying that SCO and others owes the open source community an apology. Why? As Pamela Jones, webmistress of Groklaw, put it, here's why:

Slashdot - with opinions all over the place every day - had a similar thread.

I don't get this - while the virus writer may be trying to better obfuscate his tracks by giving hints that this is just an anti-SCO virus, why does the writing living in Russia rule out an OSS person doing the dirty work?

• Just because the virus began in Russia, does in mean it was written in Russia? Was it written by a Russian?


• The SCO case affects everyone who uses/loves/wants to defend Linux. And these folks are all over the world. Hell, it was started by a Finn (Linus...).


• While it's true that SCO's (many) lawsuits focus on US companies/users, there is no reason to expect it to end there. SCO has indicated it may go overseas to sue, as well. No on is safe.


• All lawsuits are not equal. If SCO somehow managed to win this one against IBM, for example, the precedent set would ripple around the globe. And it would directly damage one of the largest tech companies in the world


• Frankly, the SCO suit is more of a nuisance (or tragicomedy) for people like me - who have home boxes running Linux but no business plans that are dependent on it as it currently exists (OSS). Ditto for the folks in Russia/Denmark/Brazil and so on. Yet I'm still steamed at SCO - so might a (more talented) programmer in this or any other country. Again, Linux is global. Any attack - in whatever country - on Linux manifests itself in some manner as a global attack. That's the reality; get over it. So a lone OSS dude in Russia could well be holding a grudge against SCO. Why is that so unthinkable?

Let's keep hoping that it wasn't an OSS fan that did this, but the virus originating in Russia does little to in any way prove that the author was or wasn't just holding a grudge against SCO for it's anti-Linux tactics.

You just can't say.

So there is nothing to apologize for. Just as there is no reason for people to claim that the virus was the work of a disgruntled OSS developer.

Overall, I'm very disappointed in the OSS reaction to this latest, Mother Russia, development of the myDoom virus. I thought we were bigger than that.

*sigh* I guess Linux is growing up...

The biggest disappointment, to me, is Groklaw's jumping on (helping create?) this bandwagon. This is a site that is the SCO anti-FUD. It's dedicated to - and has done an exceptional job of - cutting though the SCO/MS FUD and giving the fact and gathering information in a practiced, deliberate manner.

Just as SCO saying that they have identified infringing code in Linux, figuring that the virus originated in Russia proves nothing.