Beware Cheat Website for FarmVille: Security Researchers

According to a warning by security researchers, FarmVille players need to be vigilant of websites, which provide the names of cheats in connection with the much played game on Facebook, so reports Webuser on June 18, 2010.

Incidentally, a search on Google for "FarmVille cheats" results in the bogus website that pledges to provide FarmVille cheats, secrets and guides along with statistics, very prominently. Warned the security researchers, users accessing the site could, nevertheless, have their computers infected with malware.

Unsurprisingly, FarmVille is many online gamers' choice for knowing its cheats and secrets. Therefore, they rely on search engines for discovering them. Presently, "FarmVille cheats" represents a suggestion that's associated with the top-ranking results on search engines.

Nonetheless, when users search for "FarmVille cheats," they're likely to land on Farmville-secrets.spruz.com returned on Google. Getting onto this website, users will find a cartoon, which rudimentarily resembles FarmVille with a subsequent invitation for hitting a button that will disclose so-called secrets of the Facebook game.

The site presents the "Click Here" option that pops up a window for pulling down FarmVille_autobot.exe.

Said Sean Sullivan of F-Secure, an autobot seemed to be an easy means to cheat. The only exception was that the cheater there would receive in excess of what he demanded as the .exe file consisted of a TDSS variant, which was a sophisticated backdoor rootkit, Sullivan added. Webuser reported this.

Explain the security researchers that TDSS represent a remote administration functionality that eludes common security systems for controlling computer, network or software clandestinely. The file's MD5, which has been examined, is 9c7812efa218ab3750e570a93015e884. Moreover, it's recognized as Trojan:W32/TDSS.FZ.

Besides, 'TDSS' leaves little clue about its existence, although creates a passage on the victim's computer to enable the installation of more malware while the user remains unaware. This is the backdoor nature of the rootkit.

Indeed, according to the researchers, Spruz.com has made sure that the page is no longer active, citing violation of its use policy. However, Google has a cache, they warn.

Meanwhile, scammers are also using FarmVille for enticing people into distributing PC viruses on Facebook through the most recent clickjacking assault.

Related article: Beware of Income Tax Scams, Warns Attorney General

» SPAMfighter News - 6/28/2010