iPhone virus maker regrets 'stupidity'

By Ben Grubb on Nov 11, 2009 8:03 PM
Filed under Security

Receiving death threats.

Ashley Towns, the 21-year-old Australian who infected vulnerable jailbroken iPhone handsets with a virus has conceded the idea was "stupid".

Hacker Ashley Towns, 21, on his MySpace, and, inset, a picture of Rick Astley, the singer Towns placed on people's iPhones.

"In reality it was a pretty stupid thing to do," Towns said.

Asked if he regretted the spread of the virus, "God yes," he responded.

Towns said he had received non-stop phone calls, death threats and posting of his personal details online.

People had even managed to find his geo-location from a picture he posted online from his iPhone.

"It's crazy," he said. "It definitely changed the way I look at all the posts about people and stuff."

He also said that he was "really regretting" comments left in the code of the virus.

"People are stupid, and this is to prove it so RTFM [Read The F***ing Manual]. Its not that hards [sic] guys. But hey who cares, its only your bank details at stake," the virus' code read.

"I meant it in a sarcastic kind of way," Towns said. "It's one of those things I just typed without really thinking."

7 comments in this discussion

"At the end of the day... lets all face the reality; you have modified the device to perform in a way other then the intent of the developer. In other words; deal with it! I; in no way encourage ..."

By ITguy

Tags

iphone, virus, worm, apple, ashley towns

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Comments: 7

DazzaJ Nov 11, 2009 8:29 PM	It truly shows the bright, intelligent, sophisticated iphone users at their best. Now thats sarcastic!
Slatts Nov 11, 2009 9:46 PM	Poor old Ashley. He'd be one of those white hat hackers you read about. Only his is conical and you have sit in the corner when you wear it. Still, having seen his photo, it shouldn't be hard for him to change his appearance.
imortl Nov 12, 2009 8:41 AM	Anyone who is smart enough to Jailbreak their phone and dumb enough to let this happen, deserved it! Sending death threats for being Rick-rolled? Are we as a society breading a generation of wimps that truely believe that they have someone to blame other than themselves? Nobody seems to tke the learning experience any more and just lashs out because it's someone elses fault that they stepped in front of a moving car or installed malware on their own iPhone. Hell hath no fury than a Gen Y or Gen Y wannabe that gets a dose of reality! Having said that, I am not an advocate of viruses or malicious code. It seems to have cost people real money (in over-usage fees) and has breached privacy (by sending on photos) and although I think this was unintentional, that is still not acceptable. I do feel sorry for him as he meant no harm, but on the other hand it was a pretty stupid thing to do. At least HE admits that!
btone Nov 12, 2009 11:11 AM	I choose apple because 'it just works'...ooh, wait, Steve has sent me a pikky of a super dude with a cool retro hairdo, a really excellent long coat and a...hang on, Steve? STEVE? Mr Jobs!!!??? OMG...MUST...KIIIILLLLLL! Now where do I find a really cool app to kill that grungy emo dude...
Private Citizen Nov 12, 2009 1:34 PM	He should be safe until Apple releases its new range of i-weapons. eg.baseball bats with that rounded white plastic. Not only can they beat him to death but they can post their geo location on facebook while they do it. With the squeezable handle that will change music selection. Of course if they hit him too hard they might fracture the built in screen.
tallguy Nov 12, 2009 9:32 PM	@imortl: Hate to say it, but yes, our society is going in the direction of blaming anyone other than ourselves. So clearly it is your fault that I posted this ;-)
ITguy Nov 13, 2009 7:11 AM	At the end of the day... lets all face the reality; you have modified the device to perform in a way other then the intent of the developer. In other words; deal with it! I; in no way encourage or agree with malicious code; neither do I believe in death threats or posting another persons personal information online over a stupid prank. Seriously... is this what evolution has led us to?