My, my, haven't we taken our elitist pills today?

True, a fit of bluster by the popular press may serve to alert Joe Six-Pack America that he's at some sort of risk, but it may not be as likely to make some people do what they should (update the definitions for the anti-virus program that came with the machine when they bought it at K-Mart, turn off scripting on Outlook, etc.) as it is to make them go get their disk wiped and a new copy of XP installed, or write their Congressman asking for passage of a law mandating Palladium.

Besides, a public spectacle provides the virus author with his psychological reward. Aside from having some degree of technical ability (perhaps limited, as you've pointed out) most of these people have the same basic motivation as the arsonist who skulks in the shadows masturbating while he watches his "creation".

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