A visit from the FBI

What surprised me, however, were how often Trojans are used to mess with the heads of the poor unsuspecting suckers who own the zombie machines. A favorite trick is to surreptitiously turn on the Webcam of an owned computer in order to watch the dupe at work, or watch what he's typing on screen. This part isn't surprising. But Dave had countless screenshots, captured from impounded machines or acquired online from hacker hangouts, where the script kiddie, after watching for a while, just can't help himself any longer, and starts to insult or mock or screw with the duped owner.

How can the above not be fun for a 13-16 year old?!?

In one, a hacker sent a WinPopup message to a fellow: "Hey, put your shirt back on! And why are you using a computer when there's a girl on your bed!" Sure enough, the camera had captured a guy using his computer, sans shirt, and in the background you could clearly see a young woman stretched out on a bed.

In another, a man was working a crossword puzzle online when the hacker helpfully suggested a word for 14 Down (I think it was "careless"), again using WinPopup. In a third, a screenshot captured the utterly shocked expression on a man's face - mouth agape, eyes open wide in amazement - when his computer began insulting him using, you guessed it, WinPopup.

heh heh.... jeez... how can the above not be fun for a person of any age?!?

This is bad enough and it's also cruelly funny, but the scary part came in when Dave started talking about the other group behind the explosion of viruses and Trojans: Eastern European hackers, backed by organized crime, such as the Russian mafia. In other words, the professionals.

ok... not fun!