Skanks and smut threaten IT
8/27/2009 |
Let's face it. Testosterone is the enemy of IT. From porn sites contaminated
with malware to social networking tools that encourage juvenile misbehavior,
guys who let their gonads do their thinking wreck havoc over the Internet and
across corporate networks.
The latest evidence of the Y chromosome's penchant for technological tumult is a
report linking searches for info (read "naked pics") on Hollywood hottie Jessica
Biel. According to McAfee, the hardly disinterested purveyor of anti-virus
software: "Fans searching for 'Jessica Biel,' 'Jessica Biel downloads,' 'Jessica
Biel wallpaper,' 'Jessica Biel screen savers,' 'Jessica Biel photos,' and
'Jessica Biel videos' have a one-in-five chance of landing at a Web site that's
tested positive for online threats, such as spyware, adware, spam, phishing,
viruses, and other malware."
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Brady is hot, Obama is not
Who else ranks among the top 5? Three other babes. According to McAfee:
Inputting "Beyoncé ringtones" into a search engine yielded a dangerous Web site
linking to a distributor of adware and spyware. Results for "Jennifer Aniston
screensavers" contained nasty viruses, including one called the "FunLove virus,"
and searching for "Jessica Simpson videos" can mislead unsuspecting surfers to
sites with damaging downloads.
The only guy near the top of the list is the New England Patriots' Tom Brady.
Indeed, of 15 most dangerous celebrities to Google or Bing (see, I don't hate
Microsoft) searchers, only two -- Brady (No. 4) and Brad Pitt (No. 10) -- are
male.
On the other hand, higher-minded searchers looking for info on the president and
first lady are pretty safe. Barack and Michelle Obama ranked in the bottom third
of this year's results, at 34th and 39th, respectively.
OK, a lot of teen-aged girls undoubtedly check out stars online. But I'd bet my
tickets to Tim Lincecum's next outing that the overwhelming majority of searches
for Biel, Aniston, and company are guys hoping to see their, well, you know.
Harder to hide
It's pretty obvious that lust, along with greed and stupidity, drives a major
chunk of dangerous user behavior. And virus jockeys know that.
A quick glance at my own spam catcher's mailbox yields offers from widows of
dead Nigerian bankers, notices of purported lottery winnings, and offers for
pills to make me bigger. Because I never click on that sort of stuff, I don't
know how much is a straight-ahead scam and how much is a malware snare.
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