Hassled to death: Rain Forest Puppy, nerd overlord

Thursday, 21 August 2003, 8:26 AM EST

If you think famed security researcher Rain Forest Puppy's (RFP) recent announcement that he's stepping away from the limelight means he's precious, think again -- the guy has just had enough, and the problems he's been confronted with are fairly familiar. Take this analogy:

ZDNet Australia has a tech savvy readership. Many of you reading this would have been in the same position I was in when every man, dog and its accompanying fleas were buying a PC. In my family, and among many of my friends, I was the incredible, the amazing... drum roll please: "computer guy".

For most people, a computer is like a car. You put petrol in it, drive it, and then take it to the "car guy", read: mechanic, for a service or repairs. With a computer, you take it home, screw your configuration, and then call "computer guy" to come and fix it.

I have spent countless hours of my time sorting out other people's computer hassles. If you can help, you're expected to help.

Now let's take it one step further. Imagine you are "computer security guy" for all the "computer guys". Every time you plug "security guy" into Google, your name comes up. This has been the hell that RFP has been living for the last several years. He has become the world's largest one man computer security helpdesk. He's become a nerd overlord; the king of geeks.

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