News that an American teenager has been arrested on suspicion of releasing one variant of the potentially devastating Blaster virus has reopened the debate on how virus authors should be punished.

Many organisations, and particularly businesses, feel that virus authors should be imprisoned, reflecting the seriousness of the damage caused by their actions. Others have called for punishments that fit the crime, such as helping out with community IT education projects.

Computeractive wants to hear your views. You can cast your vote in our online poll, or if you'd like to say more email us at: letters@computeractive.co.uk