MySpace Predator Caught By Code 374
An anonymous reader writes, "Wired News editor and former hacker Kevin Poulsen wrote a
1,000-line Perl script that checked MySpace for registered sex offenders. Sifting through the results, he manually confirmed over 700 offenders, including a serial child molester in New York actively trying to hook up with underage boys on the site, and who has now been arrested as a result. MySpace told Congress last June that it didn't have this capability." Wired News says they will publish Poulsen's code under an open-source license later this week.
May I be the first to say... (Score:5, Funny)
MySpace told congress... (Score:5, Funny)
Don't believe it (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Don't believe it (Score:4, Funny)
*Hides*
Re:Don't believe it (Score:5, Funny)
Does slashdot lead by example? (Score:4, Funny)
So the question is... does Slashdot check all users if they are registered sex offenders or does this Paulsen guy have to run his script here too?
Easier (Score:5, Funny)
SELECT * FROM userbase WHERE SexOffender="1";
The best line in there... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Easier (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Don't believe it (Score:5, Funny)
It was originally only 17 lines, but he had to make it 1,000 so it'd be readable.
Re:Don't believe it (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Easy? (Score:5, Funny)
MySpace told Congress (Score:4, Funny)
Should read: Jim Foley breathed a sigh of relief when MySpace told Congress last June that it didn't have this capability.
Re:Congressmen (Score:2, Funny)
Naturally.
Re:Hmm... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:didn't have the capability (Score:4, Funny)
The results from the script was only the start... (Score:5, Funny)
I sure hope he wore gloves and/or other protection for that part!
Re:why release it? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:5, Funny)
What kind of a dumb criminal would willingly give their real name and address while indending to then break the law.
What next? Robbing your local sperm bank's register after leaving a DNA "deposit"? Stealing a credit card to pay your utility bills?
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Don't believe it (Score:4, Funny)
big deal (Score:3, Funny)
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:MySpace told congress... (Score:5, Funny)
What's frightening to me is not the (presumed?) sex offenders on MySpace, but that I could translate this acronym into words.
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:5, Funny)
Somebody around here did almost that. Stole a credit card, bought some home furnishings, and had it delivered. She was still trying to come up with a coherent explainantion as they took her away.
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:5, Funny)
Heh, don't ask me - and I posted it! (Score:5, Funny)
I posted it under another "funny".
I think there are folks who take the mod system way too seriously and have some sort of problem with the fact that "funny" doesn't garner "karma", so they feel obliged to give it "insightful" or some such. I don't care, If I post a "funny", I don't expect "karma".
My personal opinion is that "funny" is just that - for those who think it is funny. Maybe having zero karma for funny is "right", maybe it is "wrong".
I dunno.
Hey mods - don't zap me down too much. I didn't mod myself up. You are in a pissing match with other mods! (Not that I give a shit what my "karma" is, I am soo going to hell, maybe, depending on who you ask.)
Re:Don't believe it (Score:5, Funny)
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:5, Funny)
Please.
We can't seriously be getting this stupid as a species.
*cries*
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:3, Funny)
Heck, switch all your friends over to the CEO account - that should make them pay attention to their large security hole.