NYT Reports Porn Spam Hijacking Network

twitter writes "This NYT story describes how thousands of PCs have been used as porn spambots and reverse proxy servers, and mentions that they could be used for kiddie porn. Finally, though Microsoft is not mentioned, people might start to understand what a monoculture of poor quality software enables."

Comments

Whew!

[TopShelf]

Now I've got a great new excuse when the wife stumbles onto things...

is it me, or is it crazy?

[bongoras]

"The rogue program does not affect the Apple Macintosh line of computers or computers running variants of the Unix operating system."

so um, not to Microsoft bash or anything, but what OS does this 'sploit attack then?

Recommended Daily Allowance

[Faust7]

Finally, though Microsoft is not mentioned,

Oh, but we'll take care of that.

translation

[sammy baby]

Finally, though Microsoft is not mentioned, people might start to understand what a monoculture of poor quality software enables.

Translation:

Finally, though Microsoft is not mentioned, I felt the need to work some shrill anti-Microsoft propaganda into this post, so Fuck Bill! And Free Kevin!

A little late

[one9nine]

Pete Townsend could have used this article a few months ago.

Re:FUD

[Surak]

Some random guy says grillions of computers are infected with an undetectable virus and is going to distribute kiddie porn!!"

Is that some sort of new grilled onion sandwich at Burger King? ;)

Where do I sign up?

[Asprin]

So you're saying all I have to do is install one of those screensavers shrouded in four web-site redirections and I can sit back and wait for some pirate in The Phillipines to jack all the 1337 w4r3z and pr0n for me?

Dude! This is better than PointCast **AND** Kazaa -- The stuff just shows up! It's like subscribing to the FBI files-you-shouldn't-have mailing list!

Spyware and viruses r0ck!

Terrible

[Eccles]

This is terrible.

They put all that porn on my computer, and I don't even get to see it?

But is it worth giving up Linux?

[expro]

But is it worth giving up Linux to run Windows so you can claim to have been vulnerable?

Re:Heh

[Oliver Wendell Jones]

I just got a new Nigerian Porn Dialer that offers a 1.5% cash back bonus and a higher credit limit, why would I want to give that up?

Re:FUD

[httptech]

It's not FUD. You have to realize the concept of a reverse-proxy is not something most NY Times readers are going to understand, so those details get left out a lot. But this really is what's happening. More technical details are here:

http://www.lurhq.com/migmaf.html

Also search Google Groups for "onlycoredomains.com"

Re:What's new about this?

[Frater 219]

Someone (by someone, I mean companies that put out SMTP servers with a large share of the market) should strike while the iron is hot and take it a step further by airing some simple PSA's during a small assortment of shows. Maybe some must see TV "The More You Know" type thing...

[Fade in on dim interior of grimy trailer packed with disused computer equipment and swimsuit calendars. Greasy-looking SPAMMER puts down a half-eaten slice of cold pizza and starts dialing the phone.]

SPAMMER: Hello, is this Ms. Smith? I was wondering, would you mind if I used your computer to put some pirated pornography on the Web? [click, dial tone in background] Hello? Ms. Smith?

[Cut among views of SPAMMER on the phone, sleazy as ever.]

SPAMMER: Could I borrow your computer to send millions of spam emails? [click]

SPAMMER: ... just want to use it to run a quick scam -- [click]

SPAMMER: Uh, Mr. Jones, could I steal passwords -- [click]

SPAMMER: ... I want to crack into eBay and rip people off, could I use your computer for that? [click]

[SPAMMER looks sweatier and nervous, impatient and guilty.]

SPAMMER: [click] Hello? Hello?

[SPAMMER puts the phone down and starts typing, face illuminated by the screen.]

JAMES EARL JONES VOICEOVER: In the real world, spammers and Internet criminals don't ask your permission. They use viruses and insecure computers world-wide to steal from people. To find out what you can do to protect yourself and your family from crime on the Internet, log on to computer security dot gov.

[Fade out to black screen:]

http://computersecurity.gov/
Take a byte out of crime.

JAMES EARL JONES VOICEOVER: Brought to you by the FBI and the SANS Institute.

It's not a bug--It's a feature

[Jeremy Erwin]

Ever hear of load balancing? Microsoft allows users to load balance over many hundreds of machines? Can your precious Linux do that?

Re:Heh

[CharterTerminal]

[...] everyday, I get phone calls about pr0n email that she has received. She takes great delight in explicitlly describing the contents of the message, and then pretending to be offended. Then I get the "Why don't you do something about this" statement.

Tell her "Look, lady, I'm sorry if you feel neglected, but I'm sending out as much of it as I can. I'll send you a couple extra tonight when I get home, but after that, I can't make any promises." Then apologize for having misspelled "barnyard" in the subject line.

Re:Heh

[chimpo13]

Prove yourself competent? Oh yeah, that's why Americans are such great drivers. In fact, I'm on my PDA on the freeway eating Burger King. I just finished shaving, so I figured I'd flip through slashdot while I drove. Oh, there goes the cell phone. Now I'll have to turn down the volume on Star Wars which is showing on the dashboard of my SUV.