Nothing happened. He clicked another. Suddenly, his screen went black. Then, a red skull appeared, followed by a message:

Leo’s finger hovered over the mouse. “Is it safe?” he asked.

Leo’s heart stopped. His school project on dinosaurs—three months of work—was on that computer. So were his family’s vacation photos and his mother’s tax documents.

“My laptop is fine,” Sam shrugged. “Just click the big green button.”

Leo spent the next week redoing his dinosaur project from scratch. His family lost their photos. And his mom had to spend $200 on a new antivirus and identity theft protection.

That night, Leo searched for “Ice Age 3—Download in Tamilyogi.” He found a page filled with flashing ads, half-naked pop-ups, and buttons that said “PLAY NOW” in ten different colors. He clicked one.

Leo loved cartoons. His favorite was Ice Age 3 , with the crazy dinosaur chase and the hilarious weasel, Buck. He had watched it a hundred times, but his old DVD had finally stopped working.