Monday, June 11, 2001

Software "worm" searches your computer for pornography A new computer virus called VBS.Noped.a now circulating invades computer memories in a hunt for picture files with pornographic-sounding names and reports them to the police. The virus (a "worm") arrives from an unknown source as an e-mail attachment with the subject line: "FWD: Help us ALL to END ILLEGAL child porn NOW." If it finds suspected pornography, it sends a message to the police saying: "This is Antipedo2001. I have found a PC with known child pornography files on the hard drive. I have included a listing below and included a sample for your convenience." An executive of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has repudiated the rogue effort and says his group "does not support unlawful means even to achieve meritorious ends." [*The New York Times*, 11 Jun 2001; NewsScan Daily, 11 Jun 2001; http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/11/technology/11VIRU.html] ["NewsScan" via risks-digest Volume 21, Issue 49] 0:00 # G!