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English Recordings

by LuciePetersen on June 7, 2012

435 Words / 0 Comments

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Computer experts called 2003 ''the Year of the Worm.'' For 12 months, digital infections swarmed across the Internet with the intensity of a biblical plague. It began in January, when the Slammer worm infected nearly 75,000 servers in 10 minutes, clogging Bank of America's A.T.M. network and causing sporadic flight delays. In the summer, the Blaster worm struck, spreading by exploiting a flaw in Windows; it carried taunting messages directed at Bill Gates, infected hundreds of thousands of computers and tried to use them to bombard a Microsoft Web site with data. Then in August, a worm called Sobig.F exploded with even more force, spreading via e-mail that it generated by stealing addresses from victims' computers. It propagated so rapidly that at one point, one out of every 17 e-mail messages traveling through the Internet was a copy of Sobig.F. The computer-security firm mi2g estimated that the worldwide cost of these attacks in 2003, including clean-up and lost productivity, was at least $82 billion (though such estimates have been criticized for being inflated).

The pace of contagion seems to be escalating. When the Mydoom.A e-mail virus struck in late January, it spread even faster than Sobig.F; at its peak, experts estimated, one out of every five e-mail messages was a copy of Mydoom.A. It also carried a nasty payload: it reprogrammed victim computers to attack the Web site of SCO, a software firm vilified by geeks in the ''open source'' software community.

You might assume that the blame -- and the legal repercussions -- for the destruction would land directly at the feet of people like Mario. But as the police around the globe have cracked down on cybercrime in the past few years, virus writers have become more cautious, or at least more crafty. These days, many elite writers do not spread their works at all. Instead, they ''publish'' them, posting their code on Web sites, often with detailed descriptions of how the program works. Essentially, they leave their viruses lying around for anyone to use.

Invariably, someone does. The people who release the viruses are often anonymous mischief-makers, or ''script kiddies.'' That's a derisive term for aspiring young hackers, usually teenagers or curious college students, who don't yet have the skill to program computers but like to pretend they do. They download the viruses, claim to have written them themselves and then set them free in an attempt to assume the role of a fearsome digital menace. Script kiddies often have only a dim idea of how the code works and little concern for how a digital plague can rage out of control.

Recordings

The Virus Underground, NY Times part 3 ( recorded by bella_trixxx ), London

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by LuciePetersen on June 7, 2012

327 Words / 0 Comments

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The Virus Underground, NY Times part 2 ( recorded by Thomas ), American (Texas)

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by LuciePetersen on June 7, 2012

392 Words / 0 Comments

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This is how easy it has become.

Mario stubs out his cigarette and sits down at the desk in his bedroom. He pops into his laptop the CD of Iron Maiden's ''Number of the Beast,'' his latest favorite album. ''I really like it,'' he says. ''My girlfriend bought it for me.'' He gestures to the 15-year-old girl with straight dark hair lounging on his neatly made bed, and she throws back a shy smile. Mario, 16, is a secondary-school student in a small town in the foothills of southern Austria. (He didn't want me to use his last name.) His shiny shoulder-length hair covers half his face and his sleepy green eyes, making him look like a very young, languid Mick Jagger. On his wall he has an enormous poster of Anna Kournikova -- which, he admits sheepishly, his girlfriend is not thrilled about. Downstairs, his mother is cleaning up after dinner. She isn't thrilled these days, either. But what bothers her isn't Mario's poster. It's his hobby.

When Mario is bored -- and out here in the countryside, surrounded by soaring snowcapped mountains and little else, he's bored a lot -- he likes to sit at his laptop and create computer viruses and worms. Online, he goes by the name Second Part to Hell, and he has written more than 150 examples of what computer experts call ''malware'': tiny programs that exist solely to self-replicate, infecting computers hooked up to the Internet. Sometimes these programs cause damage, and sometimes they don't. Mario says he prefers to create viruses that don't intentionally wreck data, because simple destruction is too easy. ''Anyone can rewrite a hard drive with one or two lines of code,'' he says. ''It makes no sense. It's really lame.'' Besides which, it's mean, he says, and he likes to be friendly.

But still -- just to see if he could do it -- a year ago he created a rather dangerous tool: a program that autogenerates viruses. It's called a Batch Trojan Generator, and anyone can download it freely from Mario's Web site. With a few simple mouse clicks, you can use the tool to create your own malicious ''Trojan horse.'' Like its ancient namesake, a Trojan virus arrives in someone's e-mail looking like a gift, a JPEG picture or a video, for example, but actually bearing dangerous cargo.

Recordings

The Virus Underground, NY Times part 1 ( recorded by Thomas ), American (Texas)

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by Ringo on June 6, 2012

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by Ringo on June 5, 2012

91 Words / 3 Comments

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Is He an Exception? ( recorded by Thomas ), American (Texas)

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Is He an Exception? ( recorded by aquaadragon ), I have a Missourian accent, if that helps... ^^;

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by LeeKyungeun on June 4, 2012

481 Words / 0 Comments

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Many events happened in my life long ago. I have forgotten some events. But I distinctly remember some. They will remain fresh in my memory. My fist day at school is one such event.

Preparation for admission

I was seven years old when I was first admitted to school. My father taught me at home. My elder brother was then reading in the local school. It was decided that I too should go to school with him. I was a bit nervous at first. It was a new and unknown world to me. I feared that I would be among strangers. I did not know how the boys would receive me. I had also fear about the teachers. But my parents and elder brother encouraged me. They said that at school I would get playmates of my age. The teachers also were affectionate. At last I got over my fear and nervousness to some extent.

At School

On an auspicious day my father took me to the school. It was very big School. The school building was very big. I felt nervous when I entered the school premises with my father. I saw many boys. Some of them were of my age. The Headmaster knew my father. He knew that my elder brother was his student. He received me affectionately. He asked me my name and what books I had read at home. Then he asked an assistant teacher to examine me. I was found fit for class III.

In the class

I was then admitted to class III. A bearer conducted me to class III room. There were many boys of my age there. The teacher in the class asked me my name. he bade me to take my seat on a bench near him. I had great fear about the teachers. I heard that they beat the boys. But I was glad to see that he was not a teacher of that type. He affectionately asked me some questions. Fortunately I answered those correctly. So he was much pleased with me. There were two more periods of work before the lunch time. In the meantime I had talks with a few boys. They received me kindly. During the lunch time I played with the boys. I got over my nervousness and fear. I began to love my school.

After school hours

The school broke up at 4PM. The boys were going out of the school with loud cries of joy. It was a new experience to me. I also accompanied them. My father was waiting for me anxiously. He took me home. On our way home I told him of my good impression. He was glad to hear that.

Conclusion

My first day at school was thus an important day to me. It was beginning of my new life. I still remember that day with a feeling of joy.

Recordings

First day at school ( recorded by goats ), Pennsylvania (Northeastern American; Lehigh Valley)

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by bangbang1 on June 4, 2012

117 Words / 2 Comments

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(Jun 04th 2012)Running Dog in the dark night ( recorded by bananaman ), British English (London)

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by edriany on June 4, 2012

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daily English phrase 52 ( recorded by Bobmoney ), American

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daily English phrase 52 ( recorded by bananaman ), British English (London)

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by edriany on June 4, 2012

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daily English phrase 51 ( recorded by Bobmoney ), American

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daily English phrase 51 ( recorded by bananaman ), British English (London)

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by edriany on June 4, 2012

53 Words / 0 Comments

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daily English phrase 50 ( recorded by eshop ), standard--midwestern

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daily English phrase 50 ( recorded by bananaman ), British English (London)

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