YouthNet blog

Monday Mar 27, 2006

Spyware for all

The Register is reporting today on a new cheap way for everyone to get involved in their own spyware scam. It seems that a Russian website is selling a piece of software, known as WebAttacker, for just $15.

According to the register -

The kits come in a script kiddie friendly form with code designed to make the task of infecting computers a breeze. All the buyers need do is send spam messages inviting potential marks to visit a compromised website.

Once you get them there you can then run code to try and install password stealing code and other virus nasties.

The more we talk about how the internet is used by everyone, how every home will have a computer, how we will all use internet banking; the more stories like this really worry me. We all remember those scams that still continue, where some con-artist convinces some poor bastard to give up their life savings by pretending to be the gas man, but this is going to be worse.

Unless something is serious done to prevent spam, which doesn't look likely, then the only option might be to educate people to never click on anything in an email. After all, right now, anyone can become a spyware spammer for less than a tenner, so it's hard to imagine this problem is going to get smaller.

It's all pretty depressing, after all brilliant services like our e-cards, use emails with links inside. If this situation gets worse and the spam gets more intelligent, then sending fun virals round could quickly become a thing of the past. And that will mean people like the creators of WebAttacker will have won, and we'll all have lost.

Posted by Jim Valentine ( 4:29 PM ) Link to this post

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It's not just about the money. Is it?

I've spent most of today hearing from the digital media elite try to grapple with the ways that they (and most of the participants here) can cash in on the emerging technologies. What models work best for user generated content? What about the "m" factor (that's mobile, in case you're wondering) Ad sales? Subscriptions? Data capturing/research? They are searching for some Perfect Solution and route to profit. Monetising, monetising, monetising...

So it was refreshing to sit in a small session on digital rights management where DRM academic Ian Brown basically said that DRM doesn't and won't work. If the rights owners had spent all the time and energy over the years thinking about solutions which work with people, rather than suing kids and bullying politicians, we'd be in a much better place. Refreshing stuff.

OK, so it's easy for me to say, working for a not-for-profit. But we still have financial challenges; we still have to prove our success to funders. We just put the site users' needs first.

And now I'm in a session where a marketeer just used the word buzzability. God. Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 2:22 PM ) Link to this post

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Mobile Phone Mountain

Last Sunday The Observer reported that, according to an exhibition at The Science Museum, an incredible 1,700 mobile phones are discarded in Britain every hour.

Each phone is packed full of toxins like mercury and nickel, and although a single phone might contain very small amounts, when you consider the number that are being dumped it quickly adds up to a very disturbing ecological impact.

As Fiona-Grace Peppler of The Science Museum says, "We need to stop people throwing their phones into rubbish bins."

She's right, and what's more here at YouthNet we've got the solution - you can recycle them and help us in the process! What could be better than helping to save the environment and supporting your favourite charity?

Posted by Sam Thomas ( 12:05 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]

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Guardian Changing Media Summit

A couple of us are down at the Guardian one day event at Victoria, covering all the latest buzzwords around the internet: user generated content; social (or citizen) media; device convergence, DRM etc. I'll try and post a few times today - now that I've got my wifi sorted (for an event which is all about opening up the media, it's been hard to get online).

Martin Stiksle who founded last-fm is currently speaking, doing a show and tell, but here are a few points from the day so far:

1. Chris Dobson from MSN reckons Microsoft is moving from being a tech company to a media/advertising company. MSN will be at the centre of the "Microsoft universe". He pointed to all the usual yardsticks that prove that old-media is old-hat: increase in TiVo/Sky+ (and the skipping of adverts); Print media profits down; User generated content getting massive (25m users of MSN Spaces) etc. Usual sort of stuff and nothing overly enlightening but aimed to scare the pants of the media owners and brand people here.

2. Chris claimed that the new consumers are: sceptical; connected; time pressed; ahead of curve; intelligent and have no loyalty to brands. Carolyn McCall of the Guardian questioned the last point and suggested that people trust certain brands and will follow them. I agree and this is crucial to the success or otherwise of TheSite.org.

3. Fru Hazlitt from Virgin Radio may be bonkers but she says some sensible things. Such as "we're all too old" (watch the kids for where we're going; they don't have the history of attachment to other devices) and "most people are boring" (on why social media isn't going to kill 'proper' media).

 4. Ben Hammersley has a mantra which has ruffled feathers: "don't make crap products". He reckons that a simple way to get round this changing media and advertising universe is to ensure your product is good to start with. Simple, yet pretty complelling.

5. John Snow loves this new world but sees a real clash between this desire for user generated content and libel laws. It's a challenge which will grow for all of us,

6. So it's odd to hear the Guardian doesn't have community managers. Even now, with it's new Comment is Free site.

Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 11:23 AM ) Link to this post Comments[3]

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