A virus that is beyond malicious
- Posted by: JP Smith | November 9, 2009
- Filed Under: Internet, Law and Order, Safety and Security
Whenever the issue of computer security comes up (at least with Windows), I can't stress enough how important it is to have good antivirus software. With that being said, there are going to be some viruses that get through. Unfortunately, there are some that are so malicious that they can ruin your life. No, in this case, I am not talking identity theft. In some instances, it can be something much worse.
I think I must have first heard about this on an episode of Law and Order. A man has his computer hack and the hacker put child porn on his computer to frame him. Well, sadly, this really happened -- more than once.
In one case, Michael Fiola, a former workmen's comp investigator in Massachussets, was the victim. One night, while he was out to dinner with his wife, viruses his work computer had picked up left him vulnerable to a hack that caused it to visit some 40 child porn sites per minute and download files to his computer.
When an audit was done on his computer was done by his employer, the pornography was discovered. It cost him his job. It also forced him to rack up $250,000 in legal fees, paid for by family savings, selling a family car and taking a second mortgage out on the family home.
When computer experts for the defense were able to determine that it was impossible for him to have done this and after experts for the prosecution where able to verify this, as well, Fiola's 11-month legal battle was over but, cost his family nearly everything.
Sadly, this was not the only case.
While there are a lot of great things on the internet, there are also a lot of dangers. Just as you need to be careful when visiting certain neighborhoods, you also need to be mindful of the sites you visit on line. That cool game or free music you thought you were getting may leave you vulnerable to a life-changing computer attack.
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