Hey, if you can't ever trust other people's stuff, you are going to spend a lot of time reinventing the wheel. Other people's software, while it may have malicious code in it, probably doesn't, and if it has been used by enough people, there is a better chance malicious code would have been found already. Sometimes you have to take a chance. The bonus is, the more people who use a public software, the more bugs and security holes get found and filled/squished. If your friend takes 30 minutes to write you some code, what are the chances it doesn't have holes/security bugs, and is he going to devote his time to fixing it like someone who puts their name on it and publishes it to a few thousand people?

You could always do what I do, use someone else's and swear you'll write your own when you get around to it... gives you a warm fuzzy and releases you from the need :)

Of course, being new, writing your own is a learning experience, then again, learning experiences take time, dunno if you are in a hurry.

Do what you want, of course, but these are things to consider as well. Hope it helps.
                - Ant