ANOTHER thing to Worry About,--Viruses Used to Load Child Porn onto Third Party Computers.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

It looks like these SICK BASTARDS aren't content with just swiping your bank #'s & credit card #'s.

:grr: :grr: :argh:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AP-IMPACT-Framed-for-child-apf-1599272757.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

AP IMPACT: PC owners caught with child porn loaded on their computers -- by a computer virus
By Jordan Robertson, AP Technology Writer

Of all the sinister things that Internet viruses do, this might be the worst: They can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography.

Heinous pictures and videos can be deposited on computers by viruses -- the malicious programs better known for swiping your credit card numbers. In this twist, it's your reputation that's stolen.

Pedophiles can exploit virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their stash without fear they'll get caught. Pranksters or someone trying to frame you can tap viruses to make it appear that you surf illegal Web sites.

Whatever the motivation, you get child porn on your computer -- and might not realize it until police knock at your door.

An Associated Press investigation found cases in which innocent people have been branded as pedophiles after their co-workers or loved ones stumbled upon child porn placed on a PC through a virus. It can cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove their innocence.

Their situations are complicated by the fact that actual pedophiles often blame viruses -- a defense rightfully viewed with skepticism by law enforcement.

snip

One case involved Michael Fiola, a former investigator with the Massachusetts agency that oversees workers' compensation.

In 2007, Fiola's bosses became suspicious after the Internet bill for his state-issued laptop showed that he used 4 1/2 times more data than his colleagues. A technician found child porn in the PC folder that stores images viewed online.

Fiola was fired and charged with possession of child pornography, which carries up to five years in prison. He endured death threats, his car tires were slashed and he was shunned by friends.

Fiola and his wife fought the case, spending $250,000 on legal fees. They liquidated their savings, took a second mortgage and sold their car.

An inspection for his defense revealed the laptop was severely infected. It was programmed to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute -- an inhuman feat. While Fiola and his wife were out to dinner one night, someone logged on to the computer and porn flowed in for an hour and a half.

Prosecutors performed another test and confirmed the defense findings. The charge was dropped -- 11 months after it was filed.

The Fiolas say they have health problems from the stress of the case. They say they've talked to dozens of lawyers but can't get one to sue the state, because of a cap on the amount they can recover.

"It ruined my life, my wife's life and my family's life," he says.

The Massachusetts attorney general's office, which charged Fiola, declined interview requests.

At any moment, about 20 million of the estimated 1 billion Internet-connected PCs worldwide are infected with viruses that could give hackers full control, according to security software maker F-Secure Corp. Computers often get infected when people open e-mail attachments from unknown sources or visit a malicious Web page.

snip

But pedophiles need not be involved: Child porn can land on a computer in a sick prank or an attempt to frame the PC's owner.

In the first publicly known cases of individuals being victimized, two men in the United Kingdom were cleared in 2003 after viruses were shown to have been responsible for the child porn on their PCs.

In one case, an infected e-mail or pop-up ad poisoned a defense contractor's PC and downloaded the offensive pictures.

In the other, a virus changed the home page on a man's Web browser to display child porn, a discovery made by his 7-year-old daughter. The man spent more than a week in jail and three months in a halfway house, and lost custody of his daughter.

[hobbit709]

1. If everyone used decent security on their computers

The chances of this or anything else happening are slim.

Just about every computer that I've had to disinfect had Norton, or an outdated or nonexisting antivirus program on it.

I had one computer come in that had 1800+ viruses and 750+ spyware/malware trojans on it. My theory was that the only reason it worked at all was that they canceling each other out.

Just about all problems are caused by the Human 1.0 interface, that clicks on something without thinking.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

2. True Dat.

Just about all problems are caused by the Human 1.0 interface, that clicks on something without thinking.

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

Albert Einstein

[unc70]

3. Not if they are also using SWF or a lot of other things

I agree that a lot of the problems are with people who don't apply updates, have expired AV, no firewall, etc. But even full-patched systems are still at risk. Something as common as viewing a PDF file could do it (maybe with an embedded SWF and ActionScript).

I have been posting about this at DU for years.