Why they do it

If you got a computer virus ten or fifteen years ago, you probably experienced the digital equivalent of a mean and nasty practical joke: ink poured on important papers, stink bombs, bags of dog poop on fire, insults spray-painted on your house, your car keyed. Generally, virus/worm authors wanted notoriety, a rush of power, or just to stick it to someone who wronged them.

Now, it's all about cash money.

The Conficker worm recently woke up, as you may have heard. No, it's not the end of the world, but we are starting to see some of what it's designed to do- make money fast. Infected Windows machines are starting to present notices along the lines of "Hello. Your computer is infected. For $49.95, you can be cleaned!"

Malware authors are not maladjusted teens living in their parents' basement; they are professional criminals trying to make money.

The wrong word

There is no such thing as a mute [sic] point.

A truly clever grammarian would work in a clever line about the relative mootness of this debate.

----------------
Now playing: 2NU - She
via FoxyTunes

Crime

Someone recently tossed my car.

That is to say, I woke up to find the contents of my car strewn about the interior. Both visors flipped down, the glove box emptied on the seats, the fold-down backseat pulled down and the costumes in my spilled out across my backseat. My few CDs still there, but moved around. The XBox 360 game I borrowed remained in place, and the collectible Voltron knockoff in the trunk looked undamaged and still sealed.

They took the few bucks I had in change for meters and the paper. Not a great way to start the day but it could be much worse. No sign of forced entry, no damage to the vehicle.

Moral of this story: Lock your doors and don't become a victim of opportunity.