There's a man going round, taking names...

...and he decides who to free, and who to blame.

I love that Johnny Cash song. "The man comes around" - an apocalyptic tale of judgement and woe. And where better to bring judgement crashing down than upon the heads of the creators of the IM Rootkit currently causing so much mayhem on the internet?

Security forums seemingly can't move for this thing - see a small selection of logs that heave with rootkits, advertising software and much, much more:

Log Log Log Log Log Log Log Log Log Log Log

Many more exist - a quick search on some of these bring back some rather worrying results.

Clearly, something needs to be done. The angels need to sing, and the kettle drum needs to drive the multitudes home. In short, would you believe me or not, if I said the hounds of war had picked up a clear scent of who is responsible for this whole sorry mess? Would you trust me if I claimed that the attacker's measure of anonymity could be torn down and blasted into the ether?

Would you ride upon my white horse and watch Alpha and Omega explode, all at once?

I hope so.

When large amounts of circumstantial evidence all points to a single source, powers of deduction can usually establish that the evidence all points there for a reason. Though, every now and again, there is the slight possibility you may be wrong, usually the evidence tells the story and you make your own mind up. We present it; you assess it. Of course, we can't make any promises - only the promise that we have left no rock unturned, no crevice unsearched. So it came to pass with the creators of the IM Adware bundles, and so it may come to pass with the creators of the IM rootkit bundles.

Since FaceTime broke this sucker across the airwaves, Wayne Porter and I have done some feverish digging and the smell of blood is in the air. I can't say anything more than that, except that we are currently compiling lots and lots of information. Information that seems to point in a certain direction. In a direction that would be the last place you'd expect your compass to point.

Everybody won't be treated, all the same...