Ready, Willing and Able (to take advantage...)

The BBC report about how recent storms in the UK are being picked on by virus writers to target individuals. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6278079.stm

I mean it makes sense - take advantage of what people are going to be interested in clicking on, and they'll click and get malware... It may have become 'old-hat' when the tactic was used with naked photographs of tennis players, yet it still works today.

Does this really surprise anyone?  It's the oldest trick in the book - but sure it still works...

Malware authors now feel they can also get money from their work by adding Spyware into the payload as well as cause damage with their rogue code - so they now have even more motivation to adopt whatever tactics work successfully to get their wares out.

What does this show: if they are playing the oldest trick in the book, perhaps this even older piece of advice is even more relevant - there is no such thing as a free lunch.  Why would someone send you an e-mail with the subject "230 dead as storm batters Europe" from someone you likely don't know or an organisation you've never subscribed to?

To stay safe on the internet, good Malware scanning is essential - but a good old-fashioned cautionary approach to anything unfamiliar will definitely help.