What? This is the most ridiculous thing I've read in the past month.
Extraterrestrials would have to target specific buffer overflow bugs or something in SETI executable code, which to know about, basically means they're already visiting Earth in UFO's and walking around NASA as spies. And if they're already doing that, I don't think they need to create a computer virus to accomplish their goals.
There's no such thing as a "general" computer virus. Viruses are OS/program-specific.
This article/headline is pure science fiction, and pretty bad fiction at that.
Indeed, a better plot would be to use social engineering to let us build the virus/whatever for them:
they send us instructions on how to create some beautiful technology (e.g. a fake superluminar com) which is so obscure and intricate that it hides his real goal: a sophisticated AI which would then study us and plan for next move <put here your evil plan of choice>.
Comments
What? This is the most ridiculous thing I've read in the past month.
Extraterrestrials would have to target specific buffer overflow bugs or something in SETI executable code, which to know about, basically means they're already visiting Earth in UFO's and walking around NASA as spies. And if they're already doing that, I don't think they need to create a computer virus to accomplish their goals.
There's no such thing as a "general" computer virus. Viruses are OS/program-specific.
This article/headline is pure science fiction, and pretty bad fiction at that.
Indeed, a better plot would be to use social engineering to let us build the virus/whatever for them:
they send us instructions on how to create some beautiful technology (e.g. a fake superluminar com) which is so obscure and intricate that it hides his real goal: a sophisticated AI which would then study us and plan for next move <put here your evil plan of choice>.
(Variation on the theme of A for Andromeda)