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General discussion

Are people really this foolish.....

by Mac McMullen May 23, 2007 7:12AM PDT

Unconfirmed, and no link, from another "board"......

Free computer virus finds willing victims

HELSINKI: Computer specialist Didier Stevens put up a simple text advertisement on the Internet offering downloads of a computer virus for people who did not have any.

Surprisingly, he found as many as 409 people clicking on the ad saying "Is your PC virus-free? Get it infected here!" during a 6-month advertising campaign on Google's Adword, said the IT security expert.

"Some of them must have clicked on it by mistake. Some must have been curious or stupid," said Mikko Hypponen, head of research at data security firm F-Secure.

There was no virus involved, it was an experiment aiming to show these kind of advertising systems can be used for malicious intent, Stevens said.
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Discussion is locked

3 Posts

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RE Free computer virus

by caktus May 23, 2007 10:29AM PDT

Saw that ad. Can't recall the site. My first thought was *****-you! Then I thought, I wonder hoe many people will click on it. Now I know.

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Here

by Dragon May 23, 2007 11:58AM PDT

is a link.

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Must be part of the human condition.

by Angeline Booher May 25, 2007 12:54AM PDT

People used to put little classified ads in magazines, like "Send $1 to P.O. Box --for my recipe for apple pie ", or "Send $1 to P.O. Box --for my instructions for how to knit a bay sweater".

Somebody actually did this one:

"Send $1 to P.O. Box --."

As I recall, that story was in Readers Digest.

Angeline
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