Clinton Haines
Encyclopedia
Clinton 'Clint' Haines (born 10 April 1976 - died 10 April 1997 in St Lucia, Queensland
, Australia
) was an Australia
n computer hacker. He was also known as Harry McBungus, TaLoN and Terminator-Z.
Haines attended Ipswich Grammar School
. He wrote his first computer virus
in assembly language
using the A86
assembler in the early 1990s.
Haines was responsible for the viruses NoFrills, Dudley, X-Fungus/PuKE, Daemaen and 1984. NoFrills infected the Australian Tax Office
(ATO). It was described by anti-virus company manager Len Grooves as "totally unimpressive". Grooves added: "This is a very average virus...It could have been written by any first-year computer student. In fact, it had serious design faults and programming bugs. I would not hire the writer." Nevertheless the ATO decided to turn off all of its 15,000 computers until the virus was eradicated, to avoid the infection spreading.
His virus Dudley also infected the computers of Telstra
(then called Telecom Australia
), shutting down their system in two hours. The Dudley virus was a variant of the No Frills code with the text [Oi Dudley!][PuKE].
Haines died from a heroin overdose in 1997, in St Lucia, Brisbane
, celebrating his 21st birthday. At the time of his death he was completing an undergraduate science degree in microbiology
at the University of Queensland
. A computer virus was written in his honour (RIP Terminator-Z by VLAD). The virus, named 'Memorial', pays acknowledgement to Haines by placing a message on an infected user's screen.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n computer hacker. He was also known as Harry McBungus, TaLoN and Terminator-Z.
Haines attended Ipswich Grammar School
Ipswich Grammar School
Ipswich Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Ipswich, a city situated on the Bremer River in South East Queensland, Australia...
. He wrote his first computer virus
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
in assembly language
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
using the A86
A86 (software)
A86 is a compact commercial assembler developed for the Intel x86 family of microprocessors by Eric Isaacson. The assembler can directly produce a Windows/DOS compatible .COM or .OBJ file from a simple text source file. It uses a slightly simpler syntax for source code than that used by other...
assembler in the early 1990s.
Haines was responsible for the viruses NoFrills, Dudley, X-Fungus/PuKE, Daemaen and 1984. NoFrills infected the Australian Tax Office
Taxation in Australia
There are many forms of taxation in Australia. Individuals and companies in Australia may be required to pay taxes or charges to all levels of government: local, state, and federal governments...
(ATO). It was described by anti-virus company manager Len Grooves as "totally unimpressive". Grooves added: "This is a very average virus...It could have been written by any first-year computer student. In fact, it had serious design faults and programming bugs. I would not hire the writer." Nevertheless the ATO decided to turn off all of its 15,000 computers until the virus was eradicated, to avoid the infection spreading.
His virus Dudley also infected the computers of Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
(then called Telecom Australia
Telecom Australia
Telecom Australia was the trading name of the:* Australian Telecommunications Commission * Australian Telecommunications Corporation * Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation...
), shutting down their system in two hours. The Dudley virus was a variant of the No Frills code with the text [Oi Dudley!][PuKE].
Haines died from a heroin overdose in 1997, in St Lucia, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, celebrating his 21st birthday. At the time of his death he was completing an undergraduate science degree in microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
at the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
. A computer virus was written in his honour (RIP Terminator-Z by VLAD). The virus, named 'Memorial', pays acknowledgement to Haines by placing a message on an infected user's screen.