Tulsa World: Framed by a PC virus

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Framed by a PC virus
Lives changed when accused of collecting child porn

Michael and Robin Fiola sit near a computer in their North Scituate, R.I., home. After Michael Fiola was charged with having child porn on his work laptop and lost his job, an inspection revealed the laptop was programmed to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute — an inhuman feat. In fact, while Fiola and his wife were out to dinner one night, someone logged on to the computer, and porn flowed in for an hour and a half. Matthew Healey/The Boston Herald/AP

By JORDAN ROBERTSON Associated Press
Published: 11/15/2009 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 11/15/2009 5:05 AM

Of all the sinister things that Internet viruses do, this might be the worst: They can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography.

Heinous pictures and videos can be deposited on computers by viruses. In this twist, it's your reputation that's stolen.

Pedophiles can exploit virus-infected PCs to remotely store and view their stash. Pranksters or someone trying to frame you can tap viruses to make it appear that you surf illegal Web sites.

An Associated Press 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 a PC through a virus.

Their situations are complicated by the fact that actual pedophiles often blame viruses — a defense viewed with skepticism by law enforcement.

"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."

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

In 2007, Fiola's bosses became suspicious after the Internet bill for his state-issued laptop showed that he used 4 1/2 times more data than his colleagues.

A technician found child porn in 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 endured death threats, his car tires were slashed and he 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 revealed the laptop was severely infected. It was programmed to visit as many as 40 child porn sites per minute, and one night someone logged on to the computer, and porn flowed in for an hour and a half.

Prosecutors performed another test and confirmed the defense findings. The charge was dropped — 11 months after it was filed.

The Fiolas say the stress has caused health problems. They can't get a lawyer 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 says.

In the first publicly known cases of individuals being victimized, two men in the United Kingdom were cleared in 2003 after viruses were shown to have been responsible for the child porn on their PCs.

In one case, an infected e-mail or pop-up ad poisoned a defense contractor's PC and downloaded the offensive pictures.

In the other, a virus changed the home page on a man's Web browser to display child porn, a discovery made by his 7-year-old daughter. The man spent more than a week in jail and three months in a halfway house, and lost custody of his daughter. By JORDAN ROBERTSON Associated Press

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	Report Comment billy8, Sand Springs (11/15/2009 8:52:48 AM) Some of those sites get into your computer and send stuff you people on your E-mail list and then you get accused of sending stuff over the internet. I know of some people this has happened to and the porn just keeps comming and growing until you can't get rid of it.
	Report Comment redbeard, Stillwater (11/16/2009 4:40:24 PM) Users should scan their computers with good anti-malware programs about once a week and keep the program updated.You can get these free at cnet . com.
	Report Comment Elusive, the burbs (11/16/2009 4:53:59 PM) Pretty scary stuff, makes you wonder what all might be on our computers. Is a firewall and antivirus software enough?

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