Thursday, May 04, 2006

Why spyware writers are scumbags

In our household we're not too keen on the kids spending too much time on computers, but when they do we let the kids use the computer in the kitchen (yes, we do have one in the kitchen as well as a wireless access point). Every computer we have gets a nightly virus and spyware scan. Tonight's virus scan picked up a Java verify exploit in one of the kid's profiles.

The Java verify exploit is classic spyware. It takes advantage of a bug in the Microsoft java machine to take control of the browser. Once in, the little bugger can do anything.

So how does a ten year old get spyware into a machine? By visiting game cheat sites, that's how. Another example of how scumware writers target children as well as unsuspecting adults.

The sooner these people are shut down and thrown in gaol, the better.

Incidentally, each kid has their own profile as a limited user and is encouraged to use Firefox rather than Internet Explorer. So the spyware would have trouble doing any harm. This illustrates why all parents should take security seriously.