Today is Wisaka Bucha in Thailand.. It is the celebration of the anniversary of the day that the Buddha attained enlightenment. And of his birth. And of his death. According to Theravada Buddhist tradition observed in Thailand, all three of these events occurred on the same day: the full moon day of the lunar month of Wisaka. But in different years.

For devout Buddhists, this day is set aside for visiting the temple to make merit. In the evening there is often a candlelit procession held at the local wat. Some may fast after midday, not use a soft chair or bed, and refrain from wearing bright colors, jewelry, and perfume. It is an important religious holiday to Buddhists, and since the main focus is on religious observation many bars and pubs are closed on Wisaka Bucha and restaurants may not be serving alcohol.

Ironically, the day set aside to honor the Buddha obtaining a state of enlightenment falls on the same day word of a new computer virus has reached me. You may want to drop a quick heads-up email to acquaintances who spend their holidays haunting the bars of Sunee Plaza.

The FBI is warning internet users about a new scam that uses the existing computer virus Citadel – a Trojan that targets online bank users – to obtain valid credit card numbers. And those falling victim to the re-purposed scam-ware are paying $100 to have their account information ripped off. Yup, not very enlightened. Okay, yup, pretty damn stupid. But it gets better.

The Trojan – called Reveton – is a form of ransomware, a money extortion malware program that freezes users’ computers until they stupidly follow the instructions on their screen. This one displays a warning notifying the user that “the user’s IP address was identified by the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section as visiting child pornography.” The warning screen then informs the user he can pay $100 by credit card to clear his record.

Those who have a functioning brain whose computer becomes infected realize they picked up a nasty piece of malware. Those who really shouldn’t be allowed on the internet without adult supervision realize they may have visited Jabba’s board once too many times. And those who routinely visit kiddie porn sites are amazed at how cheaply the government will let them off the hook seeing as how they’ve paid much more than that in the past for the pleasure of perusing web content that surely has destined them to an after-life in hell. Or their next life as an under-age bar boy in Pattaya.

Related Posts You Might Enjoy: