The virus chain

On February 12, Li Jun, the creator of the Panda, and five other men were arrested in central China's Hubei Province to the relief of computer users across China.

According to the police, after he was caught, Li wrote a software that is able to extinguish the virus. The tool will be posted on a website for downloading after it has been tested by computer experts.

Li Binbin, a computer expert who was the first to discover the Panda virus, doubts the importance of Li's capture. He suspects that Li may be a scapegoat for some unknown virus-creating group.

Other computer professionals have accused the press of misleading the public. To capture the virus maker is not the same as capturing a murderer, or an arsonist. It cannot stop the spread of the virus, they said, so the press should remind the public to remain vigilant.

Combating viruses is like a war without gun smoke. The arrest of Li Jun does not put a stop to underground virus-makers. Li is just a small part of the problem, and will be followed by other more capable virus makers.

According to Zhang Liangyao, an official at the Internet monitoring division of Xiantao Public Security Bureau of Hubei Province, which cracked the Panda virus crime, the virus industry chain involves several links and each of the links has different ways of making money.

In the Panda virus case, Li wrote the virus at the request of a buyer. The virus made infected computers go to certain website, where the virus buyer attached a Trojan horse virus capable of invading the computer and stealing information, which was then sent to a "receiver" via email. The "receiver" then sold the information to an "envelope opener," who finally sold the information online.

According to police, in Hainan and Zhejiang provinces there are established groups of "envelop openers," one involving as many as 50 people.

"The Panda virus case doesn't make much difference to the virus chains, though it has attracted much public attention," said Li Binbin, the computer expert.

A tough war

Virus makers have two main ways to make money. One is to directly sell their virus on the request of a buyer. The other way is to sell the "naked chicken," a nickname for computers that are infected with viruses and are controlled by the virus maker. Information contained in these 'naked chickens' can be stolen at any time.

After his arrest Li claimed to have written the Panda virus for fun and research, but given the large amount of money he has made from viruses those motives alone are unlikely.

Li is estimated to have made around 100,000 yuan in one year from Trojan horse viruses he wrote for The Legend of Mir, a massive online role-playing game, according to one of his old friends surnamed Zhong.

"Li Jun is a product of the times," Zhong said. "Had it not been Li Jun, there would have been others like him."

"It is a small investment but highly lucrative crime," warned Shi Yu, an anti-virus engineer at Rising company.