Who's being sneaky?

Online Videos May Be Conduits for Viruses

One worm discovered in November 2006 launches a corrupt Web site without prompting after a user opens a media file in a player. Another program silently installs spyware when a video file is opened. Attackers have also tried to spread fake video links via postings on YouTube.

Or, the entertainment corporations are claiming this -- or who knows, actually putting them there -- to scare people away from using YouTube and the other deeeemon spawn of "Web 2.0".

Another soft spot involves social networking sites, blogs and wikis. These community-focused sites, which are driving the next generation of Web applications, are also becoming one of the juiciest targets for malicious hackers.

Computers surfing the sites silently communicate with a Web application in the background, but hackers sometimes secretly embed malicious code when they edit the open sites, and a Web browser will unknowingly execute the code. These chinks in the armor could let hackers steal private data, hijack Web transactions or spy on users.

See what I mean?

Paging Andrew Keen...Andrew Keen to the front desk, the amateur cult would like to have a word with you...

Plus, I'm kind of interested in that last bit, "spy on users". Hackers have better things to do. The government and the corporations, on the other hand...