The London Stock Exchange website exposed some visitors to drive-by malware attacks today. (without clicking on anything) caused my Windows computer to be compromised by malware. This malware was apparently delivered through third-party advertisements which appeared on the site. The malware was a classic spoof antivirus program which used a software vulnerability to download and install native executable code. The spoof program appeared in the system tray and prevented other processes such as Task Manager being run, falsely claiming that they were infected with a virus. The malware then tried to extort payment to fix the artificial problem it had created. It also replaced the wallpaper image with the following message: also confirmed the presence of suspicious content on the LSE website today: Of the 281 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 65 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2011-02-27, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2011-02-27.

Malicious software includes 2 scripting exploit(s), 2 trojan(s), 1 exploit(s). Successful infection resulted in an average of 5 new process(es) on the target machine. Accordingly, the site ended up being blocked by the Chrome and Firefox web browsers, which both make use of Google's malware blocklist. LSE have now disabled the affected adverts from appearing on their site, thus preventing malware reaching its visitors. For clarity, the LSE website itself was not compromised. Because the malware was distributed via an advertising network, many other sites may also have been affected. Unanimis, which hosted adverts used on the LSE website, subsequently issued the following statement: Malware was detected on the Unanimis network which affected some advertisements on our network. Other than the banner advertisements in question, the malware does not impact or affect any other parts of aThe affected advertisements have been removed and all sites continue to operate normally.

For clarity the LSE website was not impacted by this Malware, not did it propagate malware.House For Sale In Cienfuegos CubaWhen thinking about new blog post topics,  inspiration can come from any number of topics: something on social media, a new film or book being released, or, most often, something in the news that catches our eye and asks for a Sociological analysis. Leftover Laminate Flooring For SaleMy topic today is a combination of two, that fit together almost too coincidentally to be funny: The London School of Economics’ student union’s decision to disband its Men’s Rugby club  for production of an offensive leaflet, and the release of the film The Riot Club. Teacup Cavapoo Puppies For SaleAlthough the misogyny in both is a problem, and has been argued very well elsewhere, I want to point out that they are both demonstrative of wider issues around privilege, and highlight the need to take an intersectional approach to both power and oppression.

Intersectionality, as both a method and theory is important because studying race, class, gender or other category in isolation ‘ignores the multifaceted nature of individual experiences, capturing only part of a more complex whole’ (Landry, 2007). Last week, The LSE Student Union took the decision to disband the Men’s rugby club for the remainder of the year. This was in response to complaints made when a leaflet the club had produced as part of their Fresher’s fair promotional material was picked up by the LSESU Feminist Society, and found its way into wider circulation. By all accounts, the leaflet is vile. It is sexist and homophobic: Female rugby players are described as “beast-like”, women in general called “slags”, “trollops” and “sloppy birds”, and “homosexual debauchery” is apparently “not tolerated” at social events. As has been well outlined elsewhere, the leaflet demonstrates some horrendous examples of ‘lad’ culture: misogynistic and homophobic statements are made, thinly veiled as humour.

Unfortunately, these incidents aren’t isolated, and suggest that this is about more than solely misogyny. The same club has been warned on more than one occasion for similarly distasteful activities: A Nazi-themed drinking game that resulted in a Jewish student getting his nose broken, a ‘Guantanamo Bay’ themed fancy dress that involved blacking up: these both happened in recent years, whilst I was a student there. Nor is it related just to LSE. At the Oxford University Conservative Association a female member was once, during their meeting told to shush’ because ‘you’re a woman’ during a meeting, which was followed by chanting “get back to the kitchen and wash the dishes”. An article about drinking culture at Cambridge highlights even more examples. These are not just the activities of naïve students, or of ‘lads’ as part of an initiation process. These are the behaviours of a group of students who either do not think there will be consequences, or do not care about the consequences.

Returning to the leaflet – in addition to the sexist and homophobic ‘jokes’, there were also insults made towards at King’s College London: “Unlike some universities located across the Strand, we at the LSE do not enjoy drinking urine or participating in the various forms of homosexual humiliation”. In a handy glossary, the leaflet then goes on to define: “Strand polytechnic: Alternative name given to our rivals across the road (aka King’s College). Quite simply put they are scum, and they will work for us one day”. Having been at three different universities over the last four years, I know that university rivalry is a common and important part of student culture, particularly between Universities in the same town or city. The problem is not with the rivalry, it is with the tone of the jokes, the intense snobbery that is a part of the culture at LSE. A university that, without a trace of irony, sells T-shirts that say ‘More intelligent than you since 1895!’, or simply ‘L$€’.

A high percentage of LSE graduates go on to work for, and often eventually own or run huge corporations. Graduates are swept up by the biggest banks and consultancies, and in the year I was there there were countless jokes on the webpage ‘LSE Memes’ : the primary in-joke being that LSE graduates go to Goldman Sachs. LSE graduation is seen, and proves to be still, a path to wealth. It is worrying when the universities that are seen to be producing the best and the brightest, and where their graduates go on to be business leaders and politicians, are occupying and creating a culture of privilege and entitlement at their Universities. This is what the Riot Club, and the play it was based upon, Laura Wade’s “Posh”, highlight. The characters are  wealthy, privileged and badly behaved, and they display an uncompromising sense of entitlement. It is a good start to look at misogyny, and lad culture, and rape culture in universities, and it is encouraging to see so many Universities tackling it through different kinds of courses and campaigns.