Child Porn: Malware's ultimate evil

[paularoid]

Get and use a good firewall, a good anti-virus program... and be aware.

http://www.itworld.com/security/84077/child-porn-malwares-ultimate-evil

Child Porn: Malware's ultimate evil

November 9, 2009 —

If you lose files, you can probably restore them. If your credit gets stolen, you can eventually restore it. But, if malware starts storing child pornography on your PC, you're done. In a world where anything goes-as Paris Hilton's 'career' and SC governor Mark Sanford continuing in office after his 'hike' on the Appalachian (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/24/AR2009062402504.html) trail shows--there are still some things you cannot do and survive in society. Near the top of that list is child pornography. Now, thanks to some particularly nasty Windows malware, your computer might be being used to store it and you may never know it until it's too late.

A recent AP report (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iFP7nhggkjFFeVx5PS60H2O4qeIwD9BRFQ680) revealed that pedophiles are using "virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their stash without fear they'll get caught." It's not just sick people though. "Pranksters or someone trying to frame you can tap viruses to make it appear that you surf illegal Web sites. Whatever the motivation, you get child porn on your computer - and might not realize it until police knock at your door."

The AP "found cases in which innocent people have been branded as pedophiles after their co-workers or loved ones stumbled upon child porn placed on a PC through a virus. It can cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove their innocence."

Let's say though that you prove your innocence. Once tarred with the brush of being a pedophile there are many people who will never believe that you're not guilty. And, even if they do eventually believe you, in the meantime you can lose your spouse and your children, your job, your friends, and everything that makes life worth living.

As I said at the start, all the usual horrible things that malware can do to you are nothing compared to what can happen to you if your PC is taken over to search for kiddie porn or to store it.
So what can you do to prevent this? The usual: keep your Windows PC current with patches; use a good anti-virus program (http://www.itworld.com/endpoint-security/75755/and-best-free-anti-virus-program) and keep it up to date; and never, ever click on links in a dodgy e-mail message (http://www.itworld.com/endpoint-security/76168/five-messages-never-trust-your-e-mail-box). Better still, from a security standpoint, you can switch from Windows to a Mac or a Linux PC.

In addition, since it appears that the most common way that child abusers use infected PCs is to use them to store their pornographic files, you should use a good firewall. You should then set it to block such P2P (peer-to-peer) file sharing network programs such as BitTorrent (http://www.bittorrent.com/), Gnutella/LimeWire (http://www.limewire.com/), and eMule (http://www.emule-project.net/home/perl/general.cgi?l=1).

These program backers don't in any way, shape, or form support kiddie porn, but their protocols can be used to carry any content. When you want to use P2P programs for your own purposes, you can simply open your firewall to these programs as needed. Windows' own built-in firewall is adequate to block these file-sharing protocols.

None of this can absolutely guarantee that your PC won't be taken over, but by maintaining constant vigilance you should be able to keep both your PC, and your life, safe from this most malicious of all malware attacks.

[DaveM]

On a certain level, I cannot help but wonder if this is another boogeyman story about file-sharing, probably encouraged or even created by the recording industry. It seems a bit odd that someone would attempt to use another's computer in such a way, when to access the material in question would almost certainly provide a means of tracing the perpetrator. Mind, I am far from expert on computer security, so perhaps this is more easily done than I might think.

Some casual research indicates that there have indeed been criminal cases involving child pornography turning up on computers without the owner's apparent knowledge. There have been convictions stemming from the defendants inability to hire experts of the same caliber as the state--an all-too-common occurrence in every sort of criminal case. There is also the presumption of guilt inherent in "morals" cases, in which an accusation, however unfounded, might as well be a conviction in terms of the effects it has on the life of the accused.

I have no sympathy whatsoever with those who create or traffic in material such as child pornography. The fact, however, is that an internet-connected computer has become virtually a public space, with all manner of material passing through it by chance or design as one accesses the Internet or in the case of a broadband connection, while the machine is idle. The mere presence of offensive files on a computer cannot with certainty be tied to the owner or operator of the computer. There are simply too many ways for malware (as mentioned here) to tinker with your system or for who knows what to end up on your hard drive in the course of normal web surfing.

There is, too, the matter of context. Pornography of all forms tends to fall into the "I know it when I see it" category. It is certainly not among my interests, however, in a professional capacity I have done a great deal of reasearch into several high-profile criminal cases, including one in which two children were brutally murdered. My hard drive contains hundreds of crime scene photos from that case, as well as autopsy photos of the victims. Grisly, to be sure, but useful to me professionally. But might someone with a dirty mind and a political agenda be able to go through my hard drive and conclude that I possess violent child pornography?

I recall all too well the persistent rumors and fairly frequent occurrences of viruses being distributed over file-sharing networks. At least some of the malware involved is believed to have been placed on said networks by the recording industry itself or by supposedly well-meaning cyber-vigilantes. Can we honestly say that the RIAA (or some individual sympathizing with or employed by them) is above planting child pornography in much the same manner?

[DaveM]

One other thing occurs to me: at least one case of this sort involved an individual whose computer was on an office network. What is to stop the proverbial disgruntled employee from planting this sort of stuff, must as some have planted viruses or "bombs" in office computers?

For that matter, I just moved into an apartment which was recently vacated by someone who appears to have been a bit colorful--police have been here twice looking for him and a bill collector got my unlisted number and was looking for him as well. What if he had a quarrel and stashed some illicit material under the carpeting or behind a wall in here? What is my defense should the police show up acting on their favorite excuse, the "anonymous tip"?

I am taking the somewhat paranoid point of view very deliberately. It is increasingly difficult for me to wrap my mind around the idea that simply being in close proximity to some extremely offensive material can be a serious crime. Recalling the sort of items that have been "illicit" over the years and the number of people who have done time for possessing them (once again, I have no sympathy for those who produce or distribute child pornography and certainly do not believe they should get any sort of a break), how many of us would not be guilty of some sort of crime were our most private possessions to be thoroughly examined? Particularly when someone else is first allowed to write in the notebook or insert pictures into a magazine or book, which is basically what happens when someone plants material on someone else's hard drive? And particularly when almost anyone apparently has the right to look as closely as they wish?

[Gandalf]

Use a real operating system, like linux or OSX.

[DaveM]

A fine idea indeed!