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Your PC May Be Rife With Kid Porn

Victims face tough fight to clear names

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 10, 2009 7:25 AM CST
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(Newser) – Pedophiles troll the darkest corners of the Internet for abhorrent images—images that PC viruses let them download, store, and access on your computer until the police come knocking on your door. Lives and reputations are being ruined as unwitting users take the fall for images they were unaware of, and numerous people have emptied their life savings in the tricky process of proving their innocence, an AP investigation finds.

The viruses come from pedophiles seeking to store child porn where it can be accessed remotely, pranksters, and from people seeking to frame others. The problems for innocent victims of the viruses are compounded by the fact that real downloaders of child porn often blame viruses when they are caught by law enforcement. "It's an example of the old 'dog ate my homework' excuse," one cyberlaw expert says. "The problem is, sometimes the dog does eat your homework."

Computer experts warn that child porn stored by viruses can evade antivirus technology.
Computer experts warn that child porn stored by viruses can evade antivirus technology.   (Shutter Stock)
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Computers are not to be trusted. - Jeremiah Grossman, founder of WhiteHat Security Inc.

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
freethemall
Nov 11, 2009 12:45 PM CST
Best not have any Copper-tone brand sun screen lotion in your possession.
So_Cal_Larry
Nov 11, 2009 12:29 PM CST
If your computer has been compromised by an outsider, there is little you can do about this problem of your computer basically being someone else's image storehouse. It might even be 'invisible', especially if one is not very computer literate. Law enforcement does not know near enough about this problem. Innocent people have been convicted by incompetent juries, wrongful prosecutions, incompetent counsel, unknowledgeable judges.
So_Cal_Larry
Nov 11, 2009 12:26 PM CST
It was not very long ago that a young couple in San Francisco photographed their young children in the nude, and had the film developed. They were questioned by the police and prosecutor, who had the intention of prosecuting them for child porn. True story.

 
pornography • computer virus • child pornography • antivirus

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