Melissa: A befuddled 'Sky Roket' denies virus blame

Sky Roket, the America Online account used to post several viruses, including the Melissa virus, to alt.sex, belongs to Scott Steinmetz, a civil engineer in Lynnwood, Washington. But in an e-mail interview with ZDNN, Steinmetz denied posting viruses and said he had no idea why someone would have used his account to post viruses.

"I am not a virus creator or a computer programmer of any kind," Steinmetz wrote. "If I knew why he (she ?) chose me, that would kind of insinuate that I had something to do with all this, which I do not. (period, end of story, categorically the truth !!)"

Steinmetz said he had been contacted by the FBI, and will assist them in whatever way he can. In the meantime, he's been suffering through questions at his job. "I am a simple victim of a random hacker who has stolen my good name and has now soiled my good reputation."

Steinmetz said the company where he works was infected with the Melissa virus and that he has spent more than 20 hours explaining to a variety of strangers that he does not write viruses or hack into computers. He also said he had never received any e-mail about hacking until last night.

Take me to the Melissa Virus special.