Some requests are easy to deal with: they come from fellow-researchers whom you know well, and whom you trust. If you are active in the anti-virus research field, then you will regularly receive requests for virus samples.
(read the complete text, it contains important information) It was decided not to change the file itself for backward-compatibility reasons. The content of this documentation (title-only) was adapted 1 September 2006 to add verification of the activity of anti-malware or anti-spyware products.The definition of the file has been refined by Eddy Willems in cooperation with all vendors.