Usual Online Searches Capable of Making Computers Vulnerable

According to The Economic Times news reports dated November 28, 2010, users are being cautioned that their computers aren't as secured as they think. For, even one usual online search, in particular for breaking news, may put their PCs in the grasp of hackers. This is in addition to the advertisements doing the rounds, pulling proposals for downloads.

State the experts that numerous online search results associated with the recent scuffle between the two Korean countries took Web-surfers onto links that pointed to scareware and other malwares.

Actually, following the conflict between the South and North Koreas, security software and services company Trend Micro discovered that a few online search returns associated with the subject were compromised.

Search results on Google are tempting as they invite surfers to download an update of Flash Player or promise of providing screenshots of pictures; however, the web-pages associated with the Koreas are malicious.

The links to which these pages are connected are made to rank high among the search results with the help of SEO poisoning as they serve scareware. Further, the malicious and tempting search return web-pages vary according to the Web-browsers the surfers use.

Stated Trend Micro that in a period of several hours since North and South Koreas engaged in the cross-border brawl, scammers poisoned the search returns associated with the incident. The company detected hijacks for both Korean and English vernaculars, it added. The Economic Times reported this.

Trend Micro observed that Web-surfers following the poisoned or compromised search results were served bogus URLs, which instructed them to take down bogus anti-virus software that had viruses too. In the current attack, the bogus anti-virus has been identified as TROJ_FAKEAV.SMRY.

Cyber-criminals are using the shelling, an extremely untoward event in the Korean peninsula, to disguise fake anti-virus software programs. Suggest research reports that as Internet users increase in number worldwide, there's also a rise in spam volumes that kept on increasing during January to June 2010 although there was a temporary pause in April 2010. Also state the reports that malevolent URLs rose from 1.5bn to 3.5bn over January to June 2010.

» SPAMfighter News - 12/10/2010