Wednesday 11 November 2009

And computer viruses suddenly become more terrifying

An inspection for his defense revealed the laptop was severely infected. It was programmed to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute – an inhuman feat. While Fiola and his wife were out to dinner one night, someone logged on to the computer and porn flowed in for an hour and a half.

Prosecutors performed another test and confirmed the defense findings. The charge was dropped – 11 months after it was filed.

The Fiolas say they have health problems from the stress of the case. They say they've talked to dozens of lawyers but can't get one to sue the state, because of a cap on the amount they can recover.

"It ruined my life, my wife's life and my family's life," he says.

The Massachusetts attorney general's office, which charged Fiola, declined interview requests.
From Huffington, HT: Radley Balko.

Bruce Schneier notes that antivirus programs have been getting less effective over time.

2 comments:

  1. Best antivirus program: GNU/Linux.

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  2. Yeah. Except that when I put Ubuntu on a spare laptop at home, I had to get the guy who runs the University's supercomputer to help me figure out how to get it just to recognize the wireless modem. When I have a month to learn GNU/Linux (you make Stallman happy by using correct name), I'll consider it.

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