Part 2: 40 Years for Porn-Infected PC
In yesterday's blog I told you about a substitute teacher convicted of exposed students to porn sites.
Just the Facts
I'll admit all my don't haves right away: I don't have access to court records; I don't have first-hand evidence of what occurred; and I haven't examined the computer's hard drive myself.
What I do have is a working knowledge of spyware and plenty of experience cleaning infected PCs.
I also have a copy of the report written by computer forensic specialist W. Herbert Horner, the expert witness who testified in Amero's defense. You can read it, too. It's now on the NetQos site.
Proof, Speculation, and a Not-Very-Good Defense
Horner made an image of the computer's hard drive. He saw that there was no firewall and that the antivirus program was outdated. He also found 42 active "spyware/adware tracking cookie/programs." Most important, Horner said that 27 of the spyware apps were accessed before Amero had access to the computer.
To me, the implication is clear that Amero hadn't used the PC for browse for porn, as the prosecution claimed.
The defense wanted Horner to have Internet access at the trial in order to re-create what happened to Amero in the classroom. The prosecution objected, claiming they hadn't had "full disclosure" of Horner's examination.
In my opinion, had the defense attorney been on his toes, and had the jury seen the demonstration, Amero would have been found innocent.
Tomorrow: Who's guilty -- the school or the teacher?
Here's how to access all parts of the story:
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I thought Nifong was the DA in North Carolina. Hmm, perhaps he has a relative working this case and its election time.
As I said yesterday, again it is nothing more then a modern day witch trial. A way for the prosecution to profit from the noterity that they receive from tormenting this teacher who is only trying to do a job that is not easy at best. We as a community and as a nation should condem this outrage against this dedicated teacher. It is solely the responsibility of the schools administration and the school board for allowing the computer system in their schools to go on line without an upto date anti-virus program and anti-spyware program. The schools administrators, including the Principal and the school board are the guilty ones, not the teacher. Not just for the porno but for, not having the courage to stand up to the prosecuter. And if they had no knowledge of what was happening then again shame on their ignorance and again they are still guilty of all the charges. The teacher alone stands not guilty. God Bess The United States of America with the hopes that justice will prevail.
When you take into account the life and lot of the substitute teacher (which I wrote about in a comment after part 1 of this story, below), everyone involved should have his head examined. But, I suspect that the school district has chosen to sacrifice an easily discarded substitute teacher rather than find out which full-time administrators and IT employees are really to blame. In some communities, school superintendents can have long-time local "connections" which may help them to grease judicial wheels.
Thanks for linking back to us.
I want to point out that NetQoS, the company, nor Network Performance Daily, the blog, doesn't have an opinion as to Ms. Amero's guilt or innocence. We did see, however that there wasn't a whole lot of material out there that really confirmed or denied the assumptions people were making on various message boards and blogs. We also have commentary from Detective Lounsbury, who spoke for the prosecution.
We did our best to confirm facts and statements - for example, we called up the CEO of ComputerCOP software and also called up the Connecticut Governor's office and the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles to find out if an executive pardon is an expedient option in Connecticut.
I'm going to be writing an editorial later today on how the Amero case affects IT and the responsibilities of the IT department. I hope you have a chance to look at it.
-- Brian Boyko
-- Editor, Network Performance Daily
Although EVERYTHING is wrong about this case and 40 years is a joke, I wonder if people are worried that if they let her off, they will create some sort of precedence loop-hole regarding porn and minors.
Maybe they should but the System admin in jail for 40 years for leaving the system open, or the Principal in jail for not watching over the students, or Bill Gates in jail for leaving so many security holes in Windows. OJ gets off and she gets 40. I think we have some problems with our legal system.
John
http://www.monomachines.com
What a nightmare for the poor teacher! I had a friend with one of the porn pop-up viruses on his computer. He was so embarrassed! He had no idea how he had gotten it. He hardly uses his computer. His McAfee subscription had expired. The Internet is full of horror for the poor folks who are not aware of how to protect themselves. This teacher is a clear victim of a situation all of us in this world are in: where so many people in power know almost nothing of computers, the Internet, or compassion. Society should be going after the people who are filling our email boxes full of spam and sending the viruses which ruin our computers. It sure looks like an example of punishing the victim of a crime rather than the perpetrator. I trust this poor person will be released on appeal. I hope people who can will help with money and support.
If our society wasn't such a nest of sexual cripples, this problem would have been very easily handled by any adult with a competent understanding of human sexuality and how it might occassionally surprise a child. Just like the danger of credit cards and other instruments of commercial exchange. I don't care what the subject might have been because "adults" are supposed to be informed on basic elements of the nature which moves them to their choices and should be especially conscious that these choices and appetites may not be theirs. The person responding in the to the first installment and was shocked by the exposure of a "ten-year old" (maybe) to something which had popped up on his screen, I suspect, was reading more into what he felt than was actually there. It's been my experience that even eight-year olds aren't very suprised about human sexuality and its variations. Much of this is already in schoolyard banter. Let's just start to grow up.