Scareware tool dumps smut on Windows PCs Rogue anti-virus slingers are getting even sneakier. Instead of offering to clean up non-existent malware threats as per the traditional approach, one rogue scanner offers to clean up images of porn it claims to have found on a prospective mark's PC. In reality, these images get downloaded by the purported clean-up package …
Just the existence of this vector should constitute initial reasonable doubt to be overcome in any case where pron is discovered on someone's computer. (any defending attorney not prominently figuring this and other examples should be disbarred)
But then I wonder if the only reason for the 'work' herein is exploitation of gulls willing to throw money at "Nooo! pron!!" (besides the others who are quite willing to throw money at "Yes! pron!!").
Do the bad guys have other sidelines they are working? How many ends _are_ they drilling from?
Are we sure, that paedophiles haven't already written a stealth child porn distribution virus? After all, they are the ones who will benefit if half the world's PCs web-caches become polluted, and the "it wasn't me, it was a virus" defense is thereby bolstered?
I seem to recall reading in the early days of computer viruses, that a Bulgarian dissident wrote an evil capitalist propaganda distribution virus, in the hope that the secret police would then implode in self-incrimination and doubt. Which subsequently happened, though for different reasons.
On that page Thompson goes on to say "we would like to make people aware that (1) this is a problem, and (2) the victim could easily be innocent. "
Which as I understand it is wrong. The law says that the victim is guilty, and must have their life utterly destroyed for this heinous crime. Possession of such images *is* legal guilt.
... perhaps you'd now like to fix two major bugs in AVG 9.0 Free which
a) interfere with Zone Alarm (and perhaps other products) meaning that web pages don't load completely, but just hang or require refreshes half way through to complete and
b) which steal the focus every 30 minutes, meaning that in the middle of a game you're dumped back to desk top.
The only way to fix the first one is to switch of "Active Surf Shield" (making browsing less safe!) and there doesn't seem to be any permanent way to fix the second...
Not so impressive.
No seriously, this is not nice, the fake AV proggy could download anything onto a PC... Become a terrorist or a pedophile in a couple of clicks. Not nice at all. I research malware, and to be honest something as nasty as this never crossed my mind. I guess I am pretty thick.
It has now however, care to view my blog little girl?
All I can say is use NoScript and if the site you want to access fails without it, look elsewhere. There is no Javascript on my site. In fact I think I will get cron to run a script to grep through my content and email me if it finds any.
And that is the beauty of a strict liability offence - typically there is no defence possible and you are assumed guilty merely for possesion, no arguing about how it came about.
The CPS still have to take a decision on whether or not it is in the pulic interest to proceed, and no civil servant is going to put themselves in the position of saying the defendant had CP, but I was OK with their explanation.
In effect the whole process grinds on through the motions and one more name is added to the register (sorry!), some people will complain about the courts not listening when the real complaints should be directed at the government which passed such nasty legislation.
I fully expect to hear a spurious argument back around how can you possibly defend those who have this material on their HDD, so consider this scenario:
Someone who isn't as technically minded/paranoid as the readership on here gets misdirected to a page infected in the manner described. They see something they find distasteful and immediately backtrack, forgetting about it after a few days.
At some point in the future they decide to take the machine to the local PC shop to get something fixed/upgraded - technician finds the filth, plod are summoned and another life is ruined, because the law says possesion = liability.
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