VOA慢速英语2012 TECHNOLOGY REPORT - FTC Takes on Computer Scareware Scammers

 

TECHNOLOGY REPORT - FTC Takes on Computer Scareware Scammers

科技报道 - 美国联邦贸易委员会剑指电脑恐吓软件骗子

From VOA Learning English, this is the TECHNOLOGY REPORT in Special English.

现在是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。

A court in the United States has announced a judgment¹ of more than one hundred sixty million dollars against defendants² in a “scareware” operation. The case named Kristy Ross, both individually and as an officer of Innovative³ Marketing⁴, Inc. Two founders⁵ of the company, Sam Jain and Daniel Sundin, were found to be jointly⁶ liable for the fine.

美国一家法院裁定恐吓软件（scareware，又译为流氓安全软件等）被告人赔偿超过1.6亿美元。这起案件直指既作为个人又作为Innovative Marketing公司工作人员的克里斯蒂·罗斯，  该公司两位创始人，Sam Jain和Daniel Sundin被判对罚款承担连带责任。

The three are the last of eight defendants named in a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission in two thousand eight. The FTC accused them of using dishonest methods to trick more than one million individuals into buying computer security software programs. This practice is known as “scareware.”

他们是2008年美国联邦贸易委员会提起的一起讼诉列出的8名被告中的最后3人。美国联邦贸易委员会指控他们使用不正当方式，诱骗超过100万人购买电脑安全软件，这种做法被称为“恐吓软件。”

Robert Siciliano is a security expert with McAfee, the American computer security company. We spoke⁷ to him by Skype.

罗伯特·西西里亚诺（Robert Siciliano）是美国计算机安全公司McAfee公司的安全专家，我们通过Skype采访了他。

ROBERT SICILIANO: “Scareware is a form of computer virus that ends up on your PC and essentially⁸ tries to scare you into coughing up your credit card number to buy software that is supposed to fix your computer.”

西西里亚诺：“恐吓软件是一种最终出现在你电脑上的电脑病毒，本质上是试图吓唬你交出（coughing up）信用卡号码购买理应修复你的电脑的软件。

Robert Siciliano says “scareware” often appears as a pop-up message on a computer.

西西里亚诺表示，恐吓软件通常以弹窗消息的形式出现在电脑上。

ROBERT SICILIANO: “It’ll show a screen saying there is some bad virus on your PC. It shows up like the night in shining armor to protect you from this new virus that you’re computer just got.”

西西里亚诺：“它会显示一个屏幕称你电脑上有一些病毒。它会以保护你的电脑免受刚感染的最新病毒的侵扰的英雄形象出现。”

He also says there are a number of things that make the message appear believable.

他还表示，还有很多东西使得这些消息出现得更令人信服。

ROBERT SICILIANO: “What makes the scam look credible⁹ is that it often grabs a screen shot of what your computer looks like, windows that mimic¹⁰ the characteristics of your PC. And that brings some familiarity to you which enhances the quality of the scam.”

西西里亚诺：“它通常会抓取模仿你电脑特性的屏幕截图，使骗局看上去可信。这给了你一些提高骗局质量的熟悉感。”

In some cases, “scareware” operators misrepresent themselves as real companies, like Dell, Microsoft, even McAfee. There is an order form, a place to add credit card information, and yes -- a download. You may even receive a confirmation¹¹ email thanking you for your purchase.

在某些情况下，恐吓软件经营者伪装成正牌公司，像戴尔、微软、甚至是McAfee。然后有一个订单形式供你输入信用卡信息，确认，然后下载。你甚至可能会收到一封确认邮件感谢你的订购。

But Mr. Siciliano says, in reality, there was nothing to fix in the first place. What you get for your money is often a junk software program. Even more often, he says, it is something more harmful.

但西西里亚诺先生表示，首先在现实中你的电脑没有任何东西被修复。你花钱买到的通常是一个垃圾软件，甚至更多的时候是更有害的程序。

ROBERT SICILIANO: “You now have a virus and anything you do beyond that -- any links that you click, any personal information that you enter -- you’re essentially going deeper down the rabbit hole, making the problem much worse.”

西西里亚诺：“你电脑上现在安装了一个病毒，你做的任何事情，不止是你点的链接，你输入的任何个人信息，本质上你是掉进了更深的坑里，使得问题变得更糟糕。”

The judgment last week bars the defendants from selling computer security software and any other software that interferes¹² with computer use. It also bars them from any form of misleading marketing.

上周的判决禁止被告销售计算机安全软件和其它任何干扰电脑使用的软件，还禁止他们进行任何形式的误导性营销。

Last week, the FTC announced action against six other companies suspected of tricking people to buy unneeded anti-virus software. Many of the companies are said to be based in India.

上周，美国联邦贸易委员会宣布对6家涉嫌诱骗人们购买不必要防病毒软件的公司采取行动。据称这些公司中的大多数总部设在印度。

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report. I'm June Simms.

1 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

2 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

6 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

11 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

12 interferes   

vi. 妨碍，冲突，干涉

参考例句：

• The noise interferes with my work. 这噪音妨碍我的工作。
• That interferes with my plan. 那干扰了我的计划。