Malware Installed by LiveJournal Ad

Jamesday writes "LiveJournal recently introduced an ad-supported level. Over the last few days an advertiser used an ad to install the ErrorSafe malware that tried to trick people into believing they had a fault on the computer that needs them to purchase a fix. The ad used a server-side setting and targetted only those outside the US, to prevent LiveJournal's own checks from noticing it. LiveJournal has apologized for the ad and slow response." Even our readers have had to endure more than one browser-crashing ad campaign from time to time. Thanks for sticking around.

Comments

Re:Are there any humans around?

[PakProtector]

Newspapers clear ads before printing. Radio stations clear ads before airing them, and so do tv stations. Why should websites be any different?

Probably because those listed Media Outlets are supposed to have some sort of Integrity behind them, in addition to being Money-Making ventures. MySpace is solely a money-making venture. The Social Networking aspect was just a gimmick to get Ads Viewed.

Re:There are very few examples.

[HiThere]

The bible was created to provide a particular community a set of standards, and guides. If you don't follow those standards and guides, then you are not a moral part of that community.

See it as an open source project. There MUST be coding standards. Just what they are is partially determined by necessity, and partially determined by taste, but the MUST exist. If you don't follow the standards, then your code won't be accepted by the project.

There is nothing particularlly significant about the codes and practices defined in the bible. They don't even WORK! (They did in a society that was basically without government, and which was mainly rural, with poor communicaiton and transportation...but that's not where we are living.) Because of this the Jews needed to invent the commentaries on the Talmud, and the Christians needed to invent church dogma (followed by schisms over details and nomenclature). Today governments attempt to make it impossible to have a viable moral code that isn't defined by them...but as they are basically aoral, their attempts are themselves amoral.

If you must go to a religion for your morals (and since that implies a community of shared beliefs, that means a religion), then I would recommend Judiasm, Buddhism, or Taoism. Avoid the sects that worship authority, as their morals are generally "contribute such power as you have to making the priesthood stronger". (Hey, priests are people too...and one of a persons deepest needs is to feel important. And in the authoritarian sects the priests tell you what the rules are.) Note, however, that all surviving religious groups tend to make demands that a large percentage of the people will find literally impossible to adhere to. (There's a sect of Sikhs [or Jains?] that believe that it's sinful to wear clothes. It still survives, and it's members aren't all practicing nudists...except, possibly, at religious occasions.)

After much study of various options I opted for Zen. NOT Zen Buddhism, and definitely not "school boy Zen". Trying to disentangle the Zen from the Buddhism was quite ... interesting. I still haven't done it, and it's not "moral", because it's a personal activity and not a communal one. Things that you do which don't affect others can have no moral significance.