Why do I say that bin Laden's death is bad for PC users? Because it's going to unleash tons of viruses, worms, keyloggers, trojans, crapware and other vile forms of malware not to mention an ocean of spam. Even if you are a savvy computer user it's still going to effect you because it's going to adversely effect the Internet. Sometimes we forget but we're all networked together. There's only one Internet and all of us are networked to it. You've got your home network, your network at work and then there's The Network and when The Network gets temporarily (we hope temporarily) polluted by unsavvy users falling prey to unsavory black-hat scammers, we're all going to smell the stink for awhile.

It never fails to happen that when a mega news story hits, the internet bad guys start blackhat SEO (Search Engine Optimization) campaigns to lure naïve internet users onto their sites so that they can infect those users machines with all sorts of nasty malware. This week's sensational news on the death of Osama bin Laden is arguably the largest news stories since the 9 -11 terrorist attacks. According to The Daily Mail search terms like osoma bin laden dead, Al Qaeda, Navy Seals and Obama Address are among the search engine search terms being the most heavily targeted.

We should all remember to never, ever search Google or any other search engine for any news event especially if the news is likely to generate world-wide interest. Always go to a reputable Website like nytimes.com, cnn.com, bbc.com or npr.com and search within the confines of those and other trusted sites.

And too, a lot of people don't understand that when they see something in a Google search that looks like a link to a New York Times article that there is absolutely no guarantee that it is in fact a link to a Times article. It could be a link disguised as a Times article that when clicked on will send you to a Webpage that will automatically download malware onto your computer or will try to trick you into installing fake antivirus software by placing pup-ups on your screen that says your computer is infected and needs to be cleaned and offering to do it for free. Once you except their offer you are infected with software that looks like a legitimate antivirus program like AVG, McAfee or Norton antivirus but is instead a nasty piece of malware that will slow your computer to a crawl and the only way you may ever get rid of it is by paying the bad guys a ransom of $50 US or more. And even if you pay them and they allow you to delete the malware, they'll more than likely leave some nasty stuff buried deep in your computer that they can exploit at a latter date.

Mikko Hypponen, the chief research officer of Helsinki-based F-Secure told PC Magazine recently that people should be on the look-out for spam in their email that included the "Fotos_Osama_Bin_Laden.zip" archive attachment. Hyppone says that Running the resulting Windows executable file doesn't display photographs, but instead launches a new banking Trojan horse belonging to the three-year-old "Banload" line. The malware sniffs out online banking sessions and then tries to redirect payments to other accounts.

On Tuesday May 3rd the FBI issued a warning that begins by saying "The FBI today warns computer users to exercise caution when they receive e-mails that purport to show photos or videos of Usama bin Laden’s recent death." It then goes on to describe precautions similar to those I've discussed above.

And yesterday May 3, 2011, Sophos, the Internet security company, reported that Facebook users are being inundated with offers to links purporting to be photos or video of Osama bin Laden being shot or having been shot. It is extremely important to note that as of this time, May 4, 2011, the US government has not released any photos or video of bin Laden's death. And so for the time being, it would be wise to assume that any link purporting to show such information should be assumed to be link to an infectious Web location.