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Laptop infected with six of the most destructive viruses sells for $1.9 million. [ed: Australian Dollars]
You wouldn't ordinarily want to seek out a computer with viruses installed, but that's exactly what the winner of a US$1.345 million auction just did – picking up a laptop crammed with the deadliest malware of our time in return for their cash.
The buyer remains anonymous but we know much more about the laptop, which is actually part of an art project by Chinese digital artist Guo O Dong. The piece is called The Persistence of Chaos.
Dong worked with cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct to load up the laptop with its dangerous code, and it's apparently air gapped, which means it has security measures that prevent it from connecting to any other networks, to stop it from spreading its malware further.
[...] Persistence of Chaos includes ILOVEYOU from 2000, a particularly damaging worm that came attached to an email with an "ILOVEYOU" subject header. It deleted local files when run, and is thought to have caused billions of US dollars' worth of damage before being stopped.
Also at ABC.net.au and Digital Trends.
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 30 2019, @11:30PM (9 children)
It does hurt you. If these wanker art buyers gave $1.25 million to scientific research, we would be $1.25 million closer to a cure for [insert favorite disease]. #ArtStarvesScience
(Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Thursday May 30 2019, @11:38PM (5 children)
Nobody with 1.3M to spend on literally NOTHING, is spending clean money. There is always something dirty and/or bloody underlying that level of disposable income.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday May 31 2019, @02:18AM
There is always something dirty and/or bloody underlying that level of disposable income.
That's why you take it to the auction, to wash all that dirt and blood off. Every bit as good as your Kenmore. I don't know why people think it's a waste. It's not a waste, it's essential.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by arslan on Friday May 31 2019, @02:45AM
Yea, Mrs. ex-bezos certainly had to deal with a lot of dirt..
(Score: 3, Touché) by Freeman on Friday May 31 2019, @03:58PM (2 children)
Markus Alexej Persson (Notch) the creator of Minecraft, seems pretty "clean" as far as how he got his money is concerned. He didn't introduce micro-transactions or loot boxes, either. Not defending his views, but so far as his money is concerned it's about as squeaky clean as it gets. You don't have to do something dirty or bloody to have a giant pile of money. It's just that you're at a disadvantage to those that are unscrupulous and good at not getting caught/drawing attention to those unscrupulous activities.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday May 31 2019, @11:48PM (1 child)
I think the point is that the money itself is damning. The fact that he has a pile of money is all that we need to know. Eat the rich, and all that.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday June 03 2019, @04:03PM
Personally, I think the bible says it right. While money isn't evil, people definitely do evil things in the pursuit of it.
King James Version - 1 Timothy 6:10
It feels wrong to be damning someone over the fact that they have more money than you do, though. The 10 commandments has that whole thing about not coveting things your neighbor has.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by driverless on Friday May 31 2019, @04:58AM
Shit, I knew a girl once who was "crammed with viruses" and she couldn't have gone for more than $20/hour. Way better deal than this laptop.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 31 2019, @05:30AM
You fail to understand money.
Now some clueless idiot has a laptop instead of $1.25M, but somebody else has $1.25M instead of a useless laptop.
Nothing really changed, two things just swapped places.
(Score: 2) by EEMac on Friday May 31 2019, @01:51PM