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ST. PAUL, Minn. (Aug. 29) - An 18-year old from a Minneapolis suburb accused of spreading a damaging Internet infection weeks ago was arrested Friday and later released under restrictions set by a federal judge.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Richard Nelson told Jeffrey Lee Parson not to access the Internet or any other network connection and placed him on electronic monitoring.
Parson, known online as ''teekid,'' told the judge he understood the charges against him. He didn't enter a plea during his initial court appearance. His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17 in Seattle, where the case was being investigated.
During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Luehr told the judge that Parson's Internet worm, along with other Blaster variants, caused $5 million to $10 million worth of damage to Microsoft alone. He said at least 7,000 computers were affected by Parson's worm.
Parson, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound high school senior from Hopkins, spoke only in response to questions from the judge.
He wore a T-shirt that read ''Big Daddy'' on the front and ''Big and Bad'' with a grizzly bear on the back. He sported metal stud under his lip and his hair was dyed blond on top and shaved close around the sides and back.
He looked straight ahead, never turning toward his parents seated in the back row of the courtroom. His mother sighed heavily and wiped tears away from her face before the hearing. Neither she nor Parson's father would comment afterward.
Parson left the courtroom escorted by federal marshals, but he didn't immediately leave the building. Nelson expressed concern for his safety.
''There have been threats made against you,'' the judge told him.
Parson was told he would be assigned a public defender after telling the judge he had no income, no assets and only $3 in a savings account.
Investigators say they seized seven computers during their search last week. One remaining computer will be removed from the home.
Nelson warned Parson that failing to appear at future hearings would cost him $25,000 from an unsecured bond and disobeying the terms of his release would land him under immediate arrest and subject him to additional charges.
He's allowed to leave his home only for doctor visits and school, and he's not allowed to use the Internet on computers at Hopkins High School, either.
Luehr unsuccessfully requested that he be kept in custody. ''In this case, we are concerned about the economic well being of many citizens and the public at large that uses the Internet.''
He said the Blaster worm ''affected the Internet in a grievous and substantial way'' - that the function of the Internet had been undermined as a whole.
Investigators said Parson's worm allowed him to access individual computers and people's personal communications and finances. It wasn't immediately clear how he might have used that information.
Parson had admitted during an interview with the FBI and Secret Service agents to modifying the original ''Blaster'' infection and creating a version known by a variety of different names, including ''Blaster.B.,'' court papers said.
The seven computers seized by FBI and Secret Service agents Aug. 19 were still being analyzed. Parson told the FBI he built into his version a method for reconnecting to victim computers later.
Parson apparently took few steps to disguise his identity. As a byproduct of each infection, every victim's computer sent signals back to the ''t33kid.com'' Web site that Parson had registered in his own name, listing his home address in Minnesota. The computer bug blamed on Parson also included an infecting file called ''teekids.exe'' that experts quickly associated with Parson's Web site: Hackers routinely substitute ''3'' for the letter ''e'' in their online aliases.
By midday Friday, hours after Parson's arrest, professional virus-hunters across the Internet were slapping their foreheads in frustration that nobody figured out the clues earlier.
''It's kind of embarrassingly simple,'' said Nick Fitzgerald of New Zealand, a widely recognized expert and contributing editor to the Virus Bulletin newsletter. ''I guess we should praise the Lord for stupid people, right?''
The Web site, which was operated from computers physically in San Diego, appeared Friday not to have any content on it but previously contained software code for at least one virus and a listing of the most-damaging viruses circulating on the Internet.
Further details were expected to be disclosed Friday by the FBI and U.S. attorney's office in Seattle, which has been leading the investigation. The case was being handled from Seattle because the infection affected software sold by Microsoft Corp., based in nearby Redmond.
Collectively, different versions of the virus-like worm, alternately called ''LovSan'' or ''Blaster,'' snarled corporate networks worldwide, forcing Maryland's motor vehicle agency to close for one day. The infection inundated networks and frustrated home users.
Symantec Corp., a leading antivirus vendor, said the worm and its variants infected more than 500,000 computers worldwide. Experts consider it one of the worst outbreaks this year.
The ''Blaster.B'' version of the infection, which began spreading Aug. 13, was remarkably similar to the original Blaster worm that first struck two days earlier; experts said the author made few changes, renaming the infecting file from ''msblast'' to a ''teekids.''
All the Blaster virus variants took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft Corp.'s flagship Windows software. Government and industry experts had anticipated such an outbreak since July 16, when Microsoft acknowledged the software problem, which affects Windows technology used to share data files across computer networks.
The infection was quickly dubbed ''LovSan'' because of a love note left behind on vulnerable computers: ''I just want to say LOVE YOU SAN!'' Researchers also discovered another message hidden inside the infection that appeared to taunt Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates: ''billy gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software!''
Infected computers were programmed to automatically launch an attack on a Web site operated by Microsoft, which the software maker easily blunted. The site, windowsupdate.com, is used to deliver repairing software patches to Microsoft customers to prevent these types of infections.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Richard Nelson told Jeffrey Lee Parson not to access the Internet or any other network connection and placed him on electronic monitoring.
Parson, known online as ''teekid,'' told the judge he understood the charges against him. He didn't enter a plea during his initial court appearance. His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17 in Seattle, where the case was being investigated.
During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Luehr told the judge that Parson's Internet worm, along with other Blaster variants, caused $5 million to $10 million worth of damage to Microsoft alone. He said at least 7,000 computers were affected by Parson's worm.
Parson, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound high school senior from Hopkins, spoke only in response to questions from the judge.
He wore a T-shirt that read ''Big Daddy'' on the front and ''Big and Bad'' with a grizzly bear on the back. He sported metal stud under his lip and his hair was dyed blond on top and shaved close around the sides and back.
He looked straight ahead, never turning toward his parents seated in the back row of the courtroom. His mother sighed heavily and wiped tears away from her face before the hearing. Neither she nor Parson's father would comment afterward.
Parson left the courtroom escorted by federal marshals, but he didn't immediately leave the building. Nelson expressed concern for his safety.
''There have been threats made against you,'' the judge told him.
Parson was told he would be assigned a public defender after telling the judge he had no income, no assets and only $3 in a savings account.
Investigators say they seized seven computers during their search last week. One remaining computer will be removed from the home.
Nelson warned Parson that failing to appear at future hearings would cost him $25,000 from an unsecured bond and disobeying the terms of his release would land him under immediate arrest and subject him to additional charges.
He's allowed to leave his home only for doctor visits and school, and he's not allowed to use the Internet on computers at Hopkins High School, either.
Luehr unsuccessfully requested that he be kept in custody. ''In this case, we are concerned about the economic well being of many citizens and the public at large that uses the Internet.''
He said the Blaster worm ''affected the Internet in a grievous and substantial way'' - that the function of the Internet had been undermined as a whole.
Investigators said Parson's worm allowed him to access individual computers and people's personal communications and finances. It wasn't immediately clear how he might have used that information.
Parson had admitted during an interview with the FBI and Secret Service agents to modifying the original ''Blaster'' infection and creating a version known by a variety of different names, including ''Blaster.B.,'' court papers said.
The seven computers seized by FBI and Secret Service agents Aug. 19 were still being analyzed. Parson told the FBI he built into his version a method for reconnecting to victim computers later.
Parson apparently took few steps to disguise his identity. As a byproduct of each infection, every victim's computer sent signals back to the ''t33kid.com'' Web site that Parson had registered in his own name, listing his home address in Minnesota. The computer bug blamed on Parson also included an infecting file called ''teekids.exe'' that experts quickly associated with Parson's Web site: Hackers routinely substitute ''3'' for the letter ''e'' in their online aliases.
By midday Friday, hours after Parson's arrest, professional virus-hunters across the Internet were slapping their foreheads in frustration that nobody figured out the clues earlier.
''It's kind of embarrassingly simple,'' said Nick Fitzgerald of New Zealand, a widely recognized expert and contributing editor to the Virus Bulletin newsletter. ''I guess we should praise the Lord for stupid people, right?''
The Web site, which was operated from computers physically in San Diego, appeared Friday not to have any content on it but previously contained software code for at least one virus and a listing of the most-damaging viruses circulating on the Internet.
Further details were expected to be disclosed Friday by the FBI and U.S. attorney's office in Seattle, which has been leading the investigation. The case was being handled from Seattle because the infection affected software sold by Microsoft Corp., based in nearby Redmond.
Collectively, different versions of the virus-like worm, alternately called ''LovSan'' or ''Blaster,'' snarled corporate networks worldwide, forcing Maryland's motor vehicle agency to close for one day. The infection inundated networks and frustrated home users.
Symantec Corp., a leading antivirus vendor, said the worm and its variants infected more than 500,000 computers worldwide. Experts consider it one of the worst outbreaks this year.
The ''Blaster.B'' version of the infection, which began spreading Aug. 13, was remarkably similar to the original Blaster worm that first struck two days earlier; experts said the author made few changes, renaming the infecting file from ''msblast'' to a ''teekids.''
All the Blaster virus variants took advantage of a flaw in Microsoft Corp.'s flagship Windows software. Government and industry experts had anticipated such an outbreak since July 16, when Microsoft acknowledged the software problem, which affects Windows technology used to share data files across computer networks.
The infection was quickly dubbed ''LovSan'' because of a love note left behind on vulnerable computers: ''I just want to say LOVE YOU SAN!'' Researchers also discovered another message hidden inside the infection that appeared to taunt Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates: ''billy gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software!''
Infected computers were programmed to automatically launch an attack on a Web site operated by Microsoft, which the software maker easily blunted. The site, windowsupdate.com, is used to deliver repairing software patches to Microsoft customers to prevent these types of infections.