Russian Phishbot Passes The Turing Test

by Gregory Sullivan — Thursday, December 13, 2007, 09:00 AM EDT

Well, not exactly, but pretty close. The Turing Test is a proposition first offered in the 1950s that tests a computer's ability to fool a human into thinking it's another human, using only natural language text interaction. Well, now there's a Russian website named Cyberlover.ru that sells a software utility that engages women in flirtatious chatroom conversation, up to ten at a time, all the while harvesting personal information that the unwitting conversationalists offer up.

An Australian anti-virus software firm, PC Tools, has warned that the software could be abused by identity fraudsters trying to harvest people's personal details online. The Russian site denied it was intended for identity fraud.

The program, so far available only in Russian, will go on sale around February 15, just after St Valentine's Day, said the CyberLover.ru website.

"Not a single girl has yet realized that she was communicating with a program!" it said, adding that the program could also simulate virtual sex online.

"It's happened - a program to tempt girls over the internet!" said the site. "Within half an hour the CyberLover program will introduce you to ... girls, exchange photos and perhaps even a contact phone number," it states.

The program can be reconfigured to fool male chatroom users too. But then again, I imagine 75% of the "hot women" in chatrooms are fat guys in their mother's basements anyway. The other 25% are probably law enforcement looking for men looking for underage "hot women."

Tags: test, HBO, HIS, Russia, RUS, Turing Test, SSE, SIA, ses, bot

Russian Phishbot Passes The Turing Test

Login with Social Media or Manually