Malware is first introduced when Kenny takes his laptop back from his sister who was using it without his permission. She claims that it has been locked and he takes it back to fix it. He discovers that it has been infected with malware and decides to find a malware cleaner online, called "Shrive". However what he doesn't know is that this is a phony malware cleaner, this supposed cleaner is the main malware in the show. This software allows the hacker in the show to view Kenny through his webcam and records him masturbating. This footage is used to influence the main character into complying with the hackers demands. This piece of technology is a reality in our world today and malware like the one depicted in the movie is common. [1]

[1] Stouffer, Written by Clare. “10 Types of Malware + How to Prevent Malware from the Start.” Norton, https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-malware-types-of-malware.html/.

In the episode GPS is used extensively by the hacker to tell his victims where to go. He would send locations for victims to meet at or drop off items. The hacker would also use location tracking services to monitor where his victims were going to make sure they were completing their tasks. The portrayal of GPS and location services was very realistic. As long as there is cell service, location services are able to track the location of a cell phone fairly accurately [1].

[1] Merry, Krista, and Pete Bettinger. “Smartphone GPS Accuracy Study in an Urban Environment.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0219890.

In the episode the hacker first contacts the main character through email. After gaining access to his computer through malware and recording him, the hacker sent the main character the video through email. This is a realistic portrayal because once malware is installed it can potentially gain access to your entire computer, including email or other accounts [1].

[1] Hebert, Amy, et al. “How to Recognize, Remove, and Avoid Malware.” Consumer Information, 9 Feb. 2022, https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-remove-avoid-malware.

Cell phones were the main source of communication between the main characters and the hacker. Instructions were sent to each character via text messaging on what actions to perform next. This is realistic as cell phones were invented in 1973 by Motorola [1] and in the 90s SMS texting was supported [2].

[1] Loeffler, John. “The History behind the Invention of the First Cell Phone.” Interesting Engineering, Interesting Engineering, 2 Feb. 2022, https://interestingengineering.com/the-history-behind-the- invention-of-the-first-cell-phone.

[2] Christine Erickson December 17, 2019. “A Brief History of Text Messaging.” Mashable India, 17 Dec. 2019, https://in.mashable.com/tech/9551/a-brief-history-of-text- messaging.