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TechBear_Seattle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:09 AM
Original message
Free computer virus finds willing victims
The full article from http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070523/od_nm/computers_virus1_dc

Free computer virus finds willing victims

HELSINKI (Reuters) - 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 told Reuters.


Behold: the power of Internet marketing!
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snappyturtle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:16 AM
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1. I hope those 409 people are non-voters. nt
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Gormy Cuss Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:21 AM
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2. This Way to the Egress.
http://www.ptbarnum.org/egress.html
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displacedtexan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:26 AM
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3. I wonder how many of them thought...
they could capture the virus and use it against their enemies.

It takes all kinds, I guess.

This guy deserves at least an honorable mention from the IgNobel people.
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annabanana Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:28 AM
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4. OH that is funny. . . There really IS one born every minute, isn't there.. . .n/t
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whistle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:31 AM
Response to Original message
5. Uhmmm, maybe they can expand the experiment and place a full page
...ad in the New York Times for free HIV transfusions. Provide both a toll free number to call and a mail-in application. My guess would be that a single ad like that would generate a surprising number of applicants with the right kind of ad copy and images in the ad.
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JustABozoOnThisBus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:35 AM
Response to Original message
6. Hold my beer, and watch this!
It's just a way to show off your new virus protection software. Otherwise, how do you really know if it's working?

Right?

:hi:
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soothsayer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-23-07 08:36 AM
Response to Original message
7. I wonder how much they'd be willing to pay for a virus? And would they
complain if you gave them a fake virus?
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