Experts at SophosLabs warn that unprotected PCs are often hit by
offensive pop-up adverts.
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of malware and spam analysis centers, have welcomed the
news that a former substitute teacher has been granted a new trial
after her conviction earlier this year in connection with
pornographic pop-up adverts appearing on her classroom PC.
Julie Amero was convicted on 5 January 2007 in Norwich,
Connecticut, after it was found that her PC had exposed students at
Kelly Middle School to internet pornography.
Amero's conviction has generated controversy because security
experts believe that malware could have hijacked her PC to force it
to visit adult websites. The PC is said to have not been running a
firewall or anti-malware software.
The 40-year-old substitute teacher had faced a maximum possible
sentence of 40 years in prison on four counts of risk of injury to
a minor. However, today in court state prosecutor David Smith
confirmed that further forensic examination of the computer had
revealed that "some erroneous information" was presented during the
original trial.
"We see lots of malware that is designed to drive traffic to
adult websites without the user granting permission. Additionally,
hackers break into badly defended PCs and plant unsavoury pop-up
adverts onto innocent users' systems in order to generate revenue,"
said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Granting
Julie Amero's defense team a new trial is a victory for common
sense, as there are clearly elements of this case that raise
serious doubts about whether the court was properly informed of the
facts at the original hearing."
Sophos experts warn that it is easy for unprotected computers to
be infected by offensive pop-up adverts.
"It is all too easy for someone whose PC is not properly
defended by security software to find themselves in the middle of a
pop-up tornado," continued Cluley. "Many people wouldn't have a
clue as to how it happened, or what steps to take to clear the
blight off their PC. What's worst is that this can happen through
no fault of their own, they don't need to have visited an offensive
website in the first place to have the adverts pop-up. Every
organization needs to defend its workers from this nuisance with an
appropriate and up-to-date IT security solution."
No date has yet been scheduled for Amero's new trial.
Sophos recommends organizations automatically update their
corporate virus protection, and defend their users with a consolidated solution to defend against the
threats of viruses, spyware, hackers and spam.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.