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Online Videos May Conduct Viruses

Technical Writing Geek writes "A report on threats via the Internet released by a Georgia Tech research center indicates online video may be a new avenue of attack. As the popularity of flash media continues to explode, hackers may be targeting embedded video players and more traditional video downloads with worms and virii. 'One worm discovered in November 2006 launches a corrupt Web site without prompting after a user opens a media file in a player. Another program silently installs spyware when a video file is opened. Attackers have also tried to spread fake video links via postings on YouTube ... Another soft spot involves social networking sites, blogs and wikis. These community-focused sites, which are driving the next generation of Web applications, are also becoming one of the juiciest targets for malicious hackers.'"

2 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. They are lying by MarsDefenseMinister · · Score: -1, Redundant

    You can't download the virii from a video, because the virii are entirely fictional. It's viruses, dang it.

    --
    No weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men.-Ronald Reagan
  2. Virii? by XantheKnight · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Ahem... I do believe the word virus is a fourth-declension latin derivative, where therefore its plural is viruses and not virii. Also the root would be vir- not viri- and so even if it were a second declension (-us noun) its plural would be viri, and not virii. Unfortunately, I believe viri is already the plural of the word vir, which means "man" (viri - men).