Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (2024)

By Geoff WhiteTechnology reporter

Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (1)Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (2)BBC

The man behind the world's first major computer virus outbreak has admitted his guilt, 20 years after his software infected millions of machines worldwide.

Filipino Onel de Guzman, now 44, says he unleashed the Love Bug computer worm to steal passwords so he could access the internet without paying.

He claims he never intended it to spread globally.

And he says he regrets the damage his code caused.

"I didn't expect it would get to the US and Europe. I was surprised," he said in an interview for Crime Dot Com, a forthcoming book on cyber-crime.

The Love Bug pandemic began on 4 May, 2000.

Victims received an email attachment entitled LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU. It contained malicious code that would overwrite files, steal passwords, and automatically send copies of itself to all contacts in the victim's Microsoft Outlook address book.

Within 24 hours, it was causing major problems across the globe, reportedly infecting 45 million machines. It also overwhelmed organisations' email systems, and some IT managers disconnected parts of their infrastructure to prevent infection.

This led to estimates of damage and disruption running into billions of pounds.

In the UK, Parliament shut down its email network for several hours to protect itself, and even the Pentagon was reportedly affected.

The previous year, the Melissa bug is believed to have infected a million machines using similar tactics. However, Love Bug dwarfed previous outbreaks and exposed how vulnerable the world's increasing internet connectivity was to attack.

Investigators traced the virus to an email address registered to an apartment in Manila, capital of the Philippines.

The occupant's brother was Onel de Guzman, a computer science student at the city's AMA Computer College. He was a member of an underground hacking group called Grammersoft and quickly became the lead suspect in a police investigation.

De Guzman's lawyer organised a press conference on 11 May, at which de Guzman appeared to speak little English.

When asked whether he may have released the virus accidentally, de Guzman said: "It is possible."

Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (3)Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (4)

At the time, the Philippines had no law covering computer hacking, and neither de Guzman nor anyone else was ever prosecuted.

Suspicion also fell on de Guzman's fellow student Michael Buen, who has been cited online as the co-author of the Love Bug.

I set out to track down Onel de Guzman and resolve the 20-year mystery of Love Bug's origin.

Online rumours claimed de Guzman had moved to Germany, Austria or the US. Some claimed he had been recruited by Microsoft following the outbreak. All proved to be wide of the mark.

On a forum dedicated to the Philippine underworld, a user claimed in 2016 that de Guzman ran a mobile phone repair shop in the Quiapo district of Manila. In April 2019, I visited the area hoping to encounter the suspect, only to find a sprawling market containing dozens of mobile phone repair shops.

I wrote Onel de Guzman's name on a piece of paper and showed it to shop workers at random in the hope that someone would recognise it. Finally an employee said he knew of de Guzman and believed he now worked in another phone repair booth at a shopping mall elsewhere in Manila.

After several hours wandering around the mall and showing de Guzman's name, I was directed to a cramped, messy stall at the very back of the building, and after waiting several hours for him to turn up, Onel de Guzman arrived.

He admitted having created Love Bug, which he said was a revamped version of an earlier virus he had coded in order to steal internet access passwords.

In the era of dial-up internet, such passwords were needed to get online, and de Guzman says he could not afford to pay for one.

He claims he initially sent the virus only to Philippine victims, with whom he communicated in chat rooms, because he only wanted to steal internet access passwords that worked in his local area.

However, in spring 2000 he tweaked the code, adding an auto-spreading feature that would send copies of the virus to victims' Outlook contacts, using a flaw in Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system. He also created a title for the email attachment that would have global appeal, tempting people across the world to open it.

"I figured out that many people want a boyfriend, they want each other, they want love, so I called it that," he said.

Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (5)Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (6)

Onel de Guzman says he regrets the damage his creation caused

De Guzman claims he sent the virus initially to someone in Singapore, and then went out drinking with a friend. The first he knew of the global chaos he had unleashed was when his mother told him police were hunting a hacker in Manila.

He explained that his mother hid his computer equipment. De Guzman insists Buen had nothing to do with Love Bug and that he was its sole creator.

After a period of lying low, de Guzman returned to computer work but did not go back to college. He now runs the small booth with another member of staff.

He says he regrets writing the virus, and the infamy it has brought him.

"Sometimes I get my picture on the internet," he said.

"My friends say, 'It's you!' I'm a shy person, I don't want this."

Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila (2024)

References

Top Articles
50 To-Die-For Low-Carb Mexican Recipes
Cut Out Sugar Cookies | No Chill Recipe- OwlbBaking.com
Funny Roblox Id Codes 2023
Golden Abyss - Chapter 5 - Lunar_Angel
Www.paystubportal.com/7-11 Login
Joi Databas
DPhil Research - List of thesis titles
Shs Games 1V1 Lol
Evil Dead Rise Showtimes Near Massena Movieplex
Steamy Afternoon With Handsome Fernando
Which aspects are important in sales |#1 Prospection
Detroit Lions 50 50
18443168434
Newgate Honda
Zürich Stadion Letzigrund detailed interactive seating plan with seat & row numbers | Sitzplan Saalplan with Sitzplatz & Reihen Nummerierung
Grace Caroline Deepfake
978-0137606801
Nwi Arrests Lake County
Immortal Ink Waxahachie
Craigslist Free Stuff Santa Cruz
Mflwer
Spergo Net Worth 2022
Costco Gas Foster City
Obsidian Guard's Cutlass
Marvon McCray Update: Did He Pass Away Or Is He Still Alive?
Mccain Agportal
Amih Stocktwits
Fort Mccoy Fire Map
Uta Kinesiology Advising
Kcwi Tv Schedule
What Time Does Walmart Auto Center Open
Nesb Routing Number
Olivia Maeday
Random Bibleizer
10 Best Places to Go and Things to Know for a Trip to the Hickory M...
Black Lion Backpack And Glider Voucher
Gopher Carts Pensacola Beach
Duke University Transcript Request
Lincoln Financial Field, section 110, row 4, home of Philadelphia Eagles, Temple Owls, page 1
Jambus - Definition, Beispiele, Merkmale, Wirkung
Ark Unlock All Skins Command
Craigslist Red Wing Mn
D3 Boards
Jail View Sumter
Nancy Pazelt Obituary
Birmingham City Schools Clever Login
Thotsbook Com
Funkin' on the Heights
Vci Classified Paducah
Www Pig11 Net
Ty Glass Sentenced
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Edwin Metz

Last Updated:

Views: 6297

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (78 voted)

Reviews: 85% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Edwin Metz

Birthday: 1997-04-16

Address: 51593 Leanne Light, Kuphalmouth, DE 50012-5183

Phone: +639107620957

Job: Corporate Banking Technician

Hobby: Reading, scrapbook, role-playing games, Fishing, Fishing, Scuba diving, Beekeeping

Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.