I got this from John Paczowski’s Good Morning Silicon Valley. I figure a computer virus that makes computers invite folks to random conversations is right up John’s alley.
I should have suspected something when the first IM had perfect spelling and grammar: Next time you’re invited to an IM chat with someone you don’t know, you might try giving them a Turing test. There’s a new worm on the loose that targets users of America Online’s AOL Instant Messenger by chatting with them. According to IM security vendor IMlogic, IM.Myspace04.AIM uses infected computers to send messages to the owners buddy list, encouraging respondents to download its malicious payload. If its intentions are questioned, the infected machine sends follow-up messages that include “lol no its not its a virus.” An unusual technique, but one that IMLogic says we’re likely to see more of. “This is a first,” Andrew Burton, director of product management at IMlogic told News.com. “This worm is not widespread, but attackers are just trying out this new technique. We will see one or two instances of an attack, there will be a refinement and then there will be an outbreak.”
Stay tuned . . .
You beat me to the punch. I saw an article about it on cnet this morning and was trying to figure out what, if anything, to say about it.
It does kind of get to the point that I’ve made in my various Loebner stories — namely that whether or not people can tell if they’re dealing with a human is an interesting and significant question. And also, that’s what the Turing Test is about– not about whether that non-human entity is “intelligent”.