Thousands Of People Oblivious To Fact That Anyone On The Internet Can Access Their Computers

...While talking about the issue at hacker conference Defcon on Sunday, security engineer Paul McMillan sent his winged monkey scanners out looking for computers that have remote access software on them, but no password. In just that short hour, the results came pouring in: thousands of computers on port 5900 using a program called VNC for remote access. The total number is likely over 30,000. Those using the program failed to password-protect it, meaning anyone who comes looking can see what they’re doing, and manipulate their computers. McMillan set a scanner to take a screenshot of every exposed computer it came across. I went through the screens captured Sunday and saw people checking Facebook, playing video games, watching Ender’s Game, reading Reddit, Skyping, reviewing surveillance cameras, shopping on Amazon, reading email, editing price lists and bills, and, of course, watching porn. I saw access screens for pharmacies, point of sale systems, power companies, gas stations, tech and media companies, a cattle-tracking company, and hundreds of cabs in Korea. This isn’t just about watching people use their computers; the fact that the scanner got in means anyone could manipulate the devices, changing the power company’s settings, pausing the porn stream, going through a company’s records, or reviewing the prescriptions for a pharmacy’s patients...