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Porn Virus Blackmails Victims Over "Copyright Violation"
FishRep writes with this excerpt from the BBC: "A new type of malware infects PCs using file-share sites and publishes the user's net history on a public website before demanding a fee for its removal.
The Japanese trojan virus installs itself on computers using a popular file-share service called Winni, used by up to 200m people.
It targets those downloading illegal copies of games in the Hentai genre, an explicit form of anime.
Website Yomiuri claims that 5,500 people have so far admitted to being infected.
The virus, known as Kenzero, is being monitored by web security firm Trend Micro in Japan.
Masquerading as a game installation screen, it requests the PC owner's personal details.
It then takes screengrabs of the user's web history and publishes it online in their name, before sending an e-mail or pop-up screen demanding a credit card payment of 1,500 yen (£10) to 'settle your violation of copyright law' and remove the webpage."
So you call the cops, transfer the money, find out who is on the other end, have the law and credit card agencies come down hard on them.
Unless you're afraid of getting caught with porn...
The MAFIAA must be wondering why they haven't done this yet. "Why waste time in the courts guys? Why lobby politicians?"
'Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.' - Mao Tse-tung
As the RIAA and the MPAA have shown in the past decade it's a perfectly legal way of doing business to threaten and blackmail people with the content they have downloaded. It's just that 10 dollars is very amateuristic. You should start with thousands of dollars for each item downloaded. 10 dollars almost seems like a realistic amount if the RIAA had a website saying: You, PjotrP, have downloaded a song by one of the artists we represent and for 10$ we will forget about it.
PjotrP
bored teens maybe? They are not asking for much. Less than twenty bucks. But I don't know how far 1500 yen will go either. Or it could be they think the malware will infect a lot of computers. shrugs.
The editors figured out an easier way to get those all important dupes up?
I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
Serves them right for using an ancient system (two generations behind, PD (Perfect Dark) via Share). This is like someone still using, say, Kazaa, and being surprised there are fake files.
I think it's worth pointing that Winni is used almost exclusively by the Japanese, and the total population of Japan is still under 130 million people. The 200 million users figure put forth by the BBC is a bad guess at best, and completely made up at worst. I honestly expected better from the BBS, but why should factual reporting get in the way of writing a sensational story?
Ethics.
Why would an individual care if his or her browsing history is published online? Employers search for Facebook or MySpace pages because these websites contain 'proof' that you behaved in some way or other (e.g. pictures), but a browsing history does not tell them anything other than, 'a computer in my household has accessed these websites at some point in time or other,' which can easily be accounted for by explaining that a friend pranked your machine with tentacle porn or your children were just really excited about Misty and Ash Ketchum.
But perhaps the real emphasis is on the following, from TFA:
A fictitious organization calling itself the ICPP copyright foundation issues threatening pop-ups and letters after a virus searches the computer hard drive for illegal content - regardless of whether it actually finds anything. It offers a "pretrial settlement" fine of $400 (£258) payable by credit card, and warns of costly court cases and even jail sentences if the victim ignores the notice.
If an individual knows that they have illegal content on their HDD they might opt for this $400.00 settlement, as past copyright infringement suits have cost individuals hefty sums.
No yesterday, no tomorrow, and no today.
For this to be effective, either the website needs to be highly publicized, or the user needs to be stupid or in a panic. I can't image the web site can be publicly known for long; virus maintainers have a hard enough time keeping their private servers up and connectable. I wonder how the virus convinces the user that their private history will be available for peruse by their friends/coworkers/family?
Symantec has some information on the virus: HTTP Infostealer Kenzero Activity: Attack Signature - Symantec Corp.
I was actually wondering about this. Is it 200 millipeople or 200 meters of people?
By the way, anyone care to tell me why slashdot was showing May 2009 articles earlier?
I've seen that recently a few times. The page starts with something from today, then yesterday, last week, last couple months, then last year. It's very odd and mostly pointless.
Note that is 200m little m which means 200milli people 10^-3. If it had said 200M that would be 200Mega people which is 10^6.
but this is the first virus i ever actually rooted for
what a demented, hilarious scheme
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
> It's very odd and mostly pointless.
Wow. I've never seen how a person who'd never encountered a bug before would describe their first one. I think you nailed it.
Like, displaying me a black screen with no sound or action when I want to view a video is odd and mostly pointless. Yeh, the "mostly" is just human kindness.
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
This sounds to me like a possible double-blackmail, where a person deliberately downloads this trojan, enters the personal details of someone they dislike, or wish to extract money from, or wants to get fired and threatens or actually hits . Off goes the personal info, plus whatever you've seeded that machine's surfing history with.
The obvious third phase is then fro the victim to sue the publishing website for defamation, since you (the blackmailer) never entered that information and have been misrepresented by the false information they've published. Sounds like everybody wins!
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
How hypocritical for a site that bases it whole business model on copyright infringement, and advocates it, would then blackmail you for it.
"... games in the Hentai genre, an explicit form of anime."
While there is some anime in hentai games (often similar art styles), and some characters in anime are seen playing hentai games, hentai games are not a form of anime. That's akin to saying "people can watch movies in their car; cars are in movies, so cars are an explicit form of movies." (And then there is (are) "Transformers" to mess with my analogy.)
It's all people shorter than 200m.
I'm pretty sure Chris Hanson is behind it in some way.
No, no, it's 200 moles per kilogram of solvent (molal).
That's some damned concentrated users.
Clearly this is a derivative work of their copyrighted sketch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZgwNutwK0Y
How long before Virus start useing the DMCA to stop anti virus apps?
I can see some of the fake anti virus one useing that and some of the spyware out there.
What I think we need to be more worried about is how 0.2 people are using some software.
I mean is there a few Million people that try to download something and only get a few bits of it, or maybe the developers are working on a new form of collaborative programing where they only let people download 1/5 of their source and make the population work together to get the working program.
Either way I don't think this virus will be a problem until it can effect more then 1 person.
Someone pirates a game and then registers with their legitimate nfo. lol! Is this a late April fools joke?
Probably millipeople. I think it's a subtle smear on Japanese people for being small.
Information theory is life. The rest is just the KL divergence.
There is evidence that Japanese have been into "tentacle porn" at least since 17th century. It was around probably even earlier than that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_of_the_Fisherman's_Wife
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Why stop here? Why not just download ( hidden ) child porn ( or god forbid, music ) onto the PC and threaten that if you don't pay up you will be reported. Forget the 'public shaming', lets go hardcore, and then perhaps we can get this stuff stopped.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
Trying to make it sound like it uses winni to magically infect your pc.. It wasn't p2p, it was the user that didn't scan/etc. Typical mis information.
---- Booth was a patriot ----
"Hopefully people will be more careful about what they install."
I am not holding my breath. We've had viruses that kill hard drives, steal credit card numbers, and spy on you. Still we have people who will type passwords into boxes that shouldn't need the password. I'm beginning to think nothing short of a virus that emails your old saved emails to your address lists (and other addresses in your saved emails) would embarrass users sufficiently to make them learn to be careful. If civilization survived that, maybe then...
Someone had to do it.
The only way not to be charged with a CP violation is
...not to be a kaon.
Spreading malware, breaking into someones computer and blackmailing them are serious offenses.
Which is why the members of the MAFIAA lobbied Congress a few years back to pass a law to decriminalize computer intrusion for purposes of copyright enforcement. Remember the Berman bill?
Sounds accurate. It's used by up to two million people, meaning some number less than two million people. For example, four people.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
There's a difference between certain dress-wearing lawyers saying thoughtcrime is a crime and thoughcrime actually being a crime. It's the mala in se vs. mala prohibita argument.
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
What with our puritanical (US) society and all.. blackmail husbands to keep their pr0n habits away from wives, non-catholic clergy against the church, teachers, lawyers, etc.
Doesn't even need to be illegal porn.. just porn in general. How many people dread a significant other finding out what really gets them off?
Good for those who crave Sushi!
--- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..