[Jimbee (OP)]

Why do private individuals create computer viruses? I know foreign governments and terrorists sometimes do it for a ransom. But why does someone who has nothing financially to gain do it? Ego? Because I know it seems I've had one or two minor computer viruses. And my PC and cell phone may be full of malware. So why do people do it?

[alancalverd]

For the same reason that they spray graffiti on motorway bridges and set fire to cats, plus a hint of intellectual challenge.

There were always two weird kids in the classroom. One had no friends, and became a politician, and the other just delighted in screwing up everyone else's day and became a public nuisance. I put it down to inadequate parenting: it costs nothing to make another baby, so why not drown the antisocial ones?

[paul cotter]

Pure and simple malevolence I would reckon. There is a cohort of malcontents who envy the lives of others without the willingness to work for improvement in their own lives. Subsequently they hate any type of success in others and they attack what they see incorrectly as ill-gotten gains. A very depressing scenario but I have seen enough of it to believe it is common. Just look at the hate displayed towards Bill Gates(don't get me wrong on this, I have no particular "love" of Gates- as far as i'm concerned he is someone who became obscenely wealthy through sharp business practice and poorly written software but none of this justifies the vitriolic hate displayed towards the man).

[Bored chemist]

"because it's there".
I believe the psychologists call it "mastery" and it's a very important driver of human learning.

https://thehealthycompulsive.com/archetypal-jung/mastery-motivation/

[Bored chemist]

...I put it down to inadequate parenting: it costs nothing to make another baby, so why not drown the antisocial ones?

Thanks for providing today's lesson in eugenics.

[alancalverd]

I've always considered eugenics to be a matter of intentional selective breeding, rather different from summary justice.

Two Texas judges are on record  for making very sound judgements. One said that a cigarette is an inherently faulty product since the outcome of its proper use is the death of the user, and another said that a defence of "genetic predisposition to murder" was grounds for capital punishment since there was clearly no other way of preventing further murders. I'm not recommending termination on grounds of genetics, but scrapping the product of birth and upbringing if it turns out to be harmful to others.

[Eternal Student]

Hi.

It's time we all change the way we talk about this.   Look at what it is and what is actually being done.

Why Do People Create Computer Viruses?

I don't think it's all about "people" or their abilities.     

(i)  For years, there's been a well understood and recognised process of "fuzzing" along with auotomated fuzz software.   This can rapidly try all combinations of inputs and check to see if the program (or web app) is exhibiting any unstable and potentially exploitable behaviour.
   Reference:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzing

(ii)   With advancing A.I. style software you must assume the would-be hacker just does not need to have a lot of skill or intelligence.
    There acually have been a few studies done on self-reported hackers and also on some hackers that were caught and sentenced in some countries.   There is limited data but their mean IQ isn't thought to be above 120 (above average but not exceptional).    Persistance and determination, along with some knowledge and experience of their area is thought to be far more important and prevalent as a characteristic than natural problem solving ability.

(iii)   Some of the most powerfull and effective cyber-attacks that have been used in serious hostile action, what we can call a genuine "war" between nations, include the Cyber-attacks on Georgia in 2008.
     Reference:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberattacks_during_the_Russo-Georgian_War
Many of these were just simple  D.O.S. (Denial of Service) attacks, where the computer servers were just swamped with connection requests from other computers so that the servers just could not respond to any genuine attempts to contact them and usually crashed.   This is an extremely simple, primitive, technique - but it was extremely "sucessful" or "destructive"  (whichever way you wish to see it.).   It was far more effective than any clever, cunning and bespoke piece of code that the enemy managed to sneak onboard the enemy computer system.

(iv)  Incredibly little about the history of cyber attacks and malware has ever highlighted the effectiveness or necessity for clever programming.   Instead it tends to be only that a vulnerability was found, posibly stmbled upon, and then possibly some mundane code might be inserted.   If you just wish to cause damage, then a blunt tool like a hammer or a D.O.S. attack works very well.

      There's more that could be said but it's just boring .   

     Overall, despite how it might still be portrayed in some films, we should just take the glamour out of being a hacker.

Best Wishes.

[Bored chemist]

summary justice...

would include

drown the antisocial ones?

[alancalverd]

Yes. A world with no antisocial humans would be a lot easier to live in. Then we could start ridding ourselves of parasites too.