__/ [ Da'Punk-A ] on Friday 12 May 2006 16:18 \__
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> Warning on search engine safety
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | Free music downloads have their risks, warns a report
>> |
>> | Some net searches are leading users to websites that expose them to
>> | spam, spyware and other dangerous downloads, reveals a report.
>> |
>> | [...]
>> |
>> | n one case signing up with one site led to a test e-mail address
>> | getting more than 300 spam (ADDENDUM: from Windows zombies) messages
>> | per week.
>> |
>> | [...]
>> |
>> | Some of these risky sites use security flaws and loopholes in
>> | browsers to install software without users' knowledge and can
>> | lead to that machine being hijacked or to a user losing
>> | personal data.
>> `----
>>
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4765199.stm
>
> Giving your email address over the internet has always been dangerous.
> There have been bots trawling the web for spam targets for a long time.
> I have a few gmail and yahoo accounts that I use for online offers and
> the like. The address I use to post here is never opened on my home
> machine. I occasionally look at what these addresses have been sent,
> using a computer at the library or local community centre. And it's a
> wise thing to do - within a few days of starting to post on Usenet,
> this address was sent quite a lot of junk mail and even a virus.
These are extremely common. Much of the junk mail that contains attachments
is malicious, rather than promotional.
> It was quite funny actually: the mail with the virus purported to be
> from microsoft.com, and said that the attachment was a security update
> of some sort. Funny, as I have never bought a Microsoft product in my
> life!
FWIW, I never bought <
http://schestowitz.com/Weblog/archives/2006/01/15/lifetime-without-software/
> *any* software product in my life. Code needn't be paid for because *some*
people contribute *some* for free. High quality Open Source software relies
on re-use.Primarily, licences such as the GPL are helping. There are no
manufacturing costs. It's an ever-changing terrain, much like the way the
Internet operates (e.g. software turns into service, search engines and SEO
evolve into a game of Trends, on-line encyclopedias and blogs).
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