Be afraid, be very afraid..  Computer viruses may be storing child pornography on your PC.  Perverted photos as well as videos may be downloaded onto your computer and you wouldn’t even know it, until the police come knocking that is…

Accoding to chron / Technology News, a variation of the same viruses that access your computer to swipe your credit card number, bank account information and other personal information could be storing child pornography on your computer.  Pedophiles can use virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their stash without fear they’ll get caught.  Pranksters or even someone trying to frame you can tap viruses to make it appear that you surf illegal Web sites. 

An AP investigation found cases in which innocent people have been branded as pedophiles after their co-workers or loved ones stumbled upon child porn placed on their computers via a virus.  It can cost victims hundreds of thousands of dollars to prove their innocents.  Not only the money spent may be lost but the victims careers, reputation and any hopes for future employment.  Once charged, even if not convicted and proven innocent, the victim is still a registered sex offender.

It’s an example of the old “dog ate my homework’ excuse, says Phil Malone, director of the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society.  “The problem is, sometimes the dog does eat your homework.”

Government worker

One case involved Michael Fiola, a former investigator with the Massachusetts agency that oversees workers’ compensation. 

Fiola’s supervisors became suspicious after the Internet bill for the state-issued laptop showed that he used 4.5 times more data than his colleagues.  A technician found child porn on the PC folder that stores images viewed online. 

Fiola was fired and charged with possession of child pornography, which carries up to five years in prison.  He received death threats, slashed car tires and was shunned by friends. 

Fiola and his wife fought the case, spending $250,000 on legal fees.  They liquidated their savings, took a second mortgage and sold their car. 

An inspection for his defense showed the laptop was severely infected.  It was programmed to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute — an inhuman feat.  While Fiola and his wife were out to dinner on night, someone logged on to the computer and porn flowed in for an hour and a half.

Prosecutors performed another test and confirmed the defenses finding.  The charges were dropped — 11 months after it was filed but the damage was already done, both to his job and reputation. 

The Fiolas say they have health problems from the stress of the case.  They say they’ve talked to dozens of lawyers but cant get one to sue the state, because of a cap on the amount they can recover.  “It ruined my life, my wife’s life and my family’s life.” he said.

At any moment, about 20 million of the estimated 1 billion Internet connected PCs worldwide are infected with viruses that could give hackers full control.

They key is that the hacker has to get the owner of the PC to click on something in order to download malware, or malicious software, to your computer, said Zwilinger, an attorney with Sonnenschein, Nath, and Rosenthal, a firm that defends companies who have been hacked.

The way they do it is to get you to click on a  link that forces you to get a Trojan or virus.   The virus runs when you’re not paying attention and downloads things to your computer you don’t want there.  And just like that, you’re exposed.

I agree Pedophiles need to be stopped at all costs but what about when that cost includes the imprisonment of innocent people?  Some people, unlike Michael Fiola, do not have $250,000 in assets to liquidate to prove their innocents, which cost him his career and reputation. 

Most businesses are now offered a discount by insurance companies if they run background checks on their employees and hire only those who meet their criteria.  If you have ever been charged with any type of sexual crime, even if you are proven innocent, you are still registered as a sex offender, thus making impossible to obtain descent employment.   What are you to do?

I see this as being a real  tragedy and a potential wide-spread threat against anyone with a computer since one Pedophile can potentially use an unlimited amount of computers to store their smut.