By Joey Gardiner, 2 May 2002 16:20
NEWS The creator of the Melissa virus has been jailed for 20 months and forced to pay a $5,000 fine. The judge in the US case said David Smith, who wrote the destructive virus that swept around the world in April 1999, would have faced a stiffer sentence if he had not helped the US government in preventing future virus attacks. The Melissa virus was the first to do major damage to computer systems worldwide. Smith's $5,000 fine is insignificant compared to the damage Melissa caused. The prosecution and defence in the case both admitted the damage caused by the virus was in excess of $80m, but some estimates put the damage at nearer $1bn. Entitled "important message", Melissa disguised itself as an email from a friend. A blueprint for many of the mass-mailing viruses that followed, when opened it copied itself to 50 people in the victim's address book. Smith was also ordered to stay away from computer networks or the internet for the foreseeable future. Anti-virus companies welcomed the news, saying they hoped the conviction of Smith would act as a deterrent to other would-be virus writers. Why is it so difficult to avoid getting hit by viruses? Everything you need to know in silicon.com's handy cheat sheet
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