Over the past few years, file-sharing programs have grown inpopularity. Many people use them to share their music and games. Theyalso provide attackers with a convenient medium for infecting userswith Trojans or worms by offering tantalizing files. This kind of riskis well known to users and attackers alike; in Volume XII of Symantec'sInternet Security Threat Report, we noted that six of the top ten new malicious code families spread through file-sharing applications.
Another risk with file sharing, which many people are unaware of, isthe accidental exposure of confidential information. With nothing morethan a misplaced click, a user can unintentionally share the entirecontents of their hard drive, which could include their browserhistory, their personal documents, or their email messages.
Some file-sharing servers, such as certain Direct Connect servers,require a minimum...
In my recent article about Spam in Multiplayer Online Games(smog), I talk about how spammers sell resources such as gold. Theseresources can be obtained with minimal user interaction, by using anautomated program to control characters and play the game. By doingthis, gold can be collected and either used or sold for real money.
As a massively multiplayer online game develops, an economydevelops. The value of rare items tends to emerge, and people will makefair trades or purchases from each other. People who play the game fora reasonable amount of time are able to purchase the same items asothers, by collecting gold (or whatever currency is used). Ideally, theeconomy will balance and end up at a fair point.
However, automated programs can be used to for this collection. Aprogram can run 24/7, doing nothing but harvesting gold. This gold...
A few months ago, I moved out of my home town in search of greenerpastures. In doing so, I called every company I could think of whomight have my previous address. And that was a lot of calling - thesedays, it seems like changing a home address is as difficult as changingan email address!
After I arrived, I bought a lot of stuff online. I purchasedeverything from books and movies to show tickets from major onlineretailers. I made every transaction with my credit card, and everythingwas shipped to my new address. I didn't have any problems - at first -all I needed was my credit card information and everything was shippedwhere I asked it to be shipped.
Recently, however, I purchased a new hard drive from a localcomputer store. Since it's on the far side of the city, I opted to haveit shipped rather than pick it up. This morning, I received an emailsaying that they wouldn't accept the order because my shipping addressdidn't match the address on my credit card. So I...
