SlashNOT

Matthew writes: CEO of Symantec Corporation John W. Thompson raised a champagne glass with CEO of Network Associates George Samenuk, maker of McAffee anti-virus software, in celebration of the 20th Anniversiary of the computer virus at the recent Computer Security Conference in Washington D.C.

“We’ve come a long way since Pakistani Brain [The first virus for the PC], that’s for sure, said Mr. Thompson. Man, do you remember the Stoned virus, or Friday the 13th? Those were the days. Man, those viruses were great. By great, I mean novel and particularly virulent.”

“Yeah, but the days ahead are even more promising—from an anti-virus perspective of course. We’ve got a solid business model established, and thanks to now constant outbreaks, every desktop absolutely must have Anti-virus software. It’s not just for the idiots who open every e-mail they get or click “yes” every time a dialog pops up on the web anymore. And don’t get me started on Microsoft Outlook. Man I love that app.”

“So here’s to 20 years of the virus, and many more to come. Hopefully, somehow, we might eradicate them forever, but who knows? I kind of doubt it.”