We'll get to my brother the ax murderer in a moment.
But first, let's all have a good laugh at the expense of the 409 morons - out of a quarter of a million individuals given the opportunity - who clicked on this Google ad:
Drive-By Download
Is your PC virus-free?
Get it infected here!
After all, only the dimmest of the dimwitted would purposely subject their PC to a virus, and quantifying the natural occurrence rate of such losers could be seen as one purpose of this little experiment by security researcher Didier Stevens.
It isn't the only one, however.
"I designed my ad to make it suspect, but even then it was accepted by Google without problem, and I got no complaints. And many users clicked on it," says Stevens. "Now, you may think that they were all stupid Windows users, but there is no way to know what motivated them to click on my ad."
Exactly. So what was the ad testing?
Security savvy, or lack thereof? Maybe. That's certainly the conclusion of choice.
But what about curiosity? I mean who could read such an ad and not be curious as to what it's all about? Couldn't it be argued that the 409 who clicked through represent the cream of the crop when it comes to thirst for knowledge?
What about faith in almighty Google? Certainly if Google accepted the ad, these 409 may have reasoned, there cannot be any earthly reason to eschew clicking through. (That Google accepted the ad, which ran for months, may be the most interesting result of the experiment ... certainly the one most worthy of follow-up.)
Or does it test the courage of one's convictions? Let's face it, the vast majority of us seeing that ad would presume it to be a joke or a way-out-there advertising gimmick, as opposed to what it literally claims to be. But how many would display the same resolve to have our instincts proven correct as did our brave 409? ... And need I remind you that they were indeed proven right?
Who's laughing now, my friends? Shame on that quarter of a million men and women who saw the ad but possessed neither the curiosity, faith nor courage to act on the most natural of human impulses: the urge to click.
And, now, if you've read this far it can only be for one reason: my brother the ax murderer.
Brian McNamara is his name, and he's actually a programmer, not an ax murderer, but he does tell a helluva story about having hitchhiked cross-country in his wild-and-crazy younger days, armed not merely with a pair of thumbs and a smile but also a cardboard sign that read: "Ax Murderer." ... Highly effective, too, he says.
My brother and all the people who gave him rides back then were but trailblazers for the fearless 409 who stared down Didier Stevens' experimental Google ad and clicked without blinking.
Morons? .... Oh, no, I call them heroes.
When not blogging, I am a Network World news editor and write the 'Net Buzz column.
The opinions expressed in this Weblog are those of the writer and may not represent the opinions of Network World.
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Managed risk
Every so often, when I'm running on the linux side, I'll click on a suspicious link, knowing that the odds of infection are pretty small. Curiosity.
I'm not surprised by Stevens findings
Though most people showed some restraint, it seems that others were tempted to "see what happens." Sad.
... and some might have been looking for snarks.
There are a few people that actually go looking for for trouble. Had I seen that ad, I would have loaded up a VM, started the packet sniffer, launched Camtasia to record the screen and clicked the ad.
Folks like Ben Edelman (http://www.benedelman.org/) make a habit of doing just this, looking for drive-by exploits. Usually they are more subtle, but an amazing number use social trust to get the clicks. After all, advertising they might be hazardous means they are trustworthy ... since they warn you ... right?
SiteAdvisor (http://www.siteadvisor.com) automated some of the very testing techniques used by security, anti-malware and AV researchers. Their tools would scan and "click" through ads on a page as they crawl/trawl.
Microsoft is doing the same with their Strider HoneyMonkey project. (http://research.microsoft.com/HoneyMonkey/)
My point being that not all the click throughs were clueless. Heroes? Perhaps.
That's what's fun about the web, it's a bit like standing on a Manhattan street corner. A little risky, but always something new and strange. If I wanted "safe", I'd be reading a book, not a blog {grin}.
Now, your brother, that's a another issue ....
Not morons, just kid vandals (...OK, morons)
409 out of 250K is not at all surprising; it strikes me as low.
One must realize how many sixth-grade boys are sitting in front of school computers. At least 10% of them would eagerly click on such a link.
I'm sorry
I think I remember that ad--because I seem to recall clicking on it. Sorry about that. I run Apple OS X and don't worry a lot about viruses. Sometimes, I download 'em, crack 'em open, and read the code. Call me curious!