Interview with RaiD [SLAM]
by Opic
[March 1998]

RaiD is one of the more outspoken virus writers of the 'scene' openly creating confrontation with the AV community at large as well as many of his 'guinea pigs'. He is the author of such virii as: the Weed family (v1.0-1.5), the Rustybug Family (v1.0-1.1), and in more recent times the Krile family (v1.0-1.0g and counting) all written in ASIC.

Tell us a little about yourself; what do you do? age? where are you from?

Well...I'm a computer technician by trade.. eheh... And I've fiddled with other electronics...cb, ham radio...hehe... I'm 20 now....I'm from....well....all over the usa I guess you could say...I've been almost everywheres ... heh

What was your first experience with a computer virus?

Hrm...Well, for some odd reason, I've never actually been infected by one...Er, except a few of mine...But, heh, we all have little accidents <EG> So..My first real experience with one would be when I wanted to know more about them...so I got ahold of Chiba City BBS (anyone remember those?) number...called long distance alot. ehehe. I downloaded...erm, Oh yea...Green catapiller I guess....I infected an old computer I had..and just watched it...it was...neat.. ehehehe

How long have you been involved in virus writing and in SLAM?

Well...I wrote weed v1.0 in .....96-97.... Sometime around there..It got wild in the first part of 97...so musta been 96... I joined SLAM in 97...Ive almost been in it for one year..the group that is....

Tell us a little about SLAM and its members, the group is not nearly as outspoken as yourself, what are SLAMs plans for the future?

Well...to be honest, SLAM is a very relaxed group. Were not interested in competing. But, I'll tell you this....SLAM will be showing you all kinds of new things in SLAM #4, and yea, I know..delays, but it'll be worth the wait. <EG>

Please give a brief description of the ASIC language to those unfamiliar with it.

Also....Well, for starters to kill a stupid rumer...ASIC is *not* basic, nor a basic subset or dialec. While it shares some familiarities, it is by no means basic. It's a rather...intricate language, once you get used to it. At first it appears as utter junk, but once you get under the hood...You learn to appreciate it's power.... Much like...c-- (not ++) and asm. :-)

Did you choose to write your virii in ASIC out of want or necessity (ie:do you know other languages well enough to write virii in them also)?

Well, I wanted to see if I could do it. I'd read and watched viruses...I wanted to write one, in a language which would make it a bitch to remove. (I have my reasons). I learned how to use some dos interrupts, and file io control thanks to it. -) eheh...But, my later viruses are being more...asm built then anything else now adays.

We have spoken before about your conversations with the creator of ASIC, what did he have to say about the fact that you wrote your virii exclusivly in his language?

Well....Lets put it this way....He wasn't impressed. :-)

What is your opinion on the spreading of virii?

Hrm.....I could lie.....Nah...I'll stick with no comment.

What methods do you use for the spreading of your virii? Are there any particular groups or types of people you focus on infecting?

ehehe...well, I've found..warez is the best way to spread them.... Of course theres others, but....lets not get into that....:-)

What would do you have to say to innocent parties who have been infected by your virii?

Hrm..well...uhh, Sucks to be that person...Hope they learned...ehehehe

You play devils advocate with many members of the Anti-virus community (particularly on alt.comp.virus) what are your motives behind this?

There are none. AV in general do not deserve the unrealistic credit they get...Especially shit ones like Symantec and Mcafee er...Network Associates... And I try to have....pleasant discussion, but....Thats just not possible...Besides, if we didnt exist, they wouldnt either. Supply and Demand and all.

What do you think of the AV community in general?

In general, I consider them pompous assholes.

What members/products do you respect in the AV community? which do you dislike?

In this order I like: AVP,DSAV,FPROT I despise anything not mentioned...:-)

Are there any groups/writers that you have particular respect for (outside of SLAM)?

Sure...29a, VLAD (now defunct as I recall)...and oh yea...FS...ehehe.

Why do you work and rework one particular virus rather then moving to new and different virii as most virus writers do?

Hrm...Well, I like the name KRiLE.. just stuck with me so far...:-) Besides, I know these later generations of my creations piss AV off, and probably embarras em...AV: just wait till I get tsr down. <EG>

What kind of virii do you plan to write in the future? Do you plan on sticking with ASIC or moving into other programming language?

Well...I'll use a combination of asic and asm...sometimes pure asm viruses sometimes asic ones....No sense getting rid of something which works...:-)

What do you think of microsoft? Many virus writers despise microsoft but without them virus writing would not be what it is today, what do you think of this love/hate relationship?

I don't like microsoft. Because of them, and there winshit95+, complete fucking morons can get on a computer..

What do you think the future of virus writing is? Are we at the tip of the iceberg or nearing end of the road?

As long as an OS is popular, and is used, and theres an interest, they'll be a virus for it. I consider virus coding a challenge. :-)