Beware of SpyLocked, it,s spyware, not antispyware!
A new specie of malware is crushing the pc users: SpyLocked. SpyLocked is a false antispyware program that does nothing than lying users that their PC is infected by malware and it encourages them to buy the full version….what an easy trick but very efficient.
SpyLocked is spread by trojans and false codecs. The main giveaway (apart from seeing a program called SpyLocked running on your system) is the balloon message that’s displayed:
System alert!
System has detected a number of active spyware applications that may impact the performance of your computer.Click the icon to get rid of unwanted spyware by downloading an up-to-date antispyware solution.
To remove SpyLocked you need a tool called SmitFraudFix. You have to download this to your desktop before to begin the removal process. You also need a tool that can open Zip files. Windows XP can do this for you automatically or you can download 7-Zip (a free compression utility).
Source: http://www.pcdoctor-guide.com
Hackers attack in a more personal way
Cybercriminals are using extremely high personalization techniques to more effectively attack those who visit their Web sites. Today these techniques represent a new and disturbing trend, according to IBM’s Internet Security Systems X-Force threat analysis group.
The sites are loaded with multiple exploits and payloads, said Gunter Ollmann, director of security strategies at IBM’s ISS X-Force team. The sites are crafted to first probe a visitor’s browser for specific information, which it then uses to craft a customized attack, he said.
“We’re seeing a large number of malicious Web sites that make use of IP address and browser information before they start to create an attack,” Ollmann said
For instance, a user who visited a malicious Web site using Internet Explorer would be targeted with exploits seeking to take advantage of specific IE flaws, while those running Firefox or Netscape would be targeted with attacks specific to their browser types. The typical payloads include spyware programs and keystroke logging software, he said.
Each Web site can host literally “dozens and dozens of exploits” targeted at old and new flaws in browsers such as IE, Firefox and Netscape, Ollmann said. “We have seen a lot of zero-day exploits being used on such sites.”
Very often, the exploits are secured from organized “managed exploit providers” who, for a monthly subscription fee — sometimes as low as US$20 per month — provide a virtually unlimited number of exploits, he said.
According to the X-Force 2006 report on security trends, about 30 percent of malicious Web sites at the end of 2006 were using personalization techniques. That number is growing at the rate of about 1,000 new sites every week, Ollmann said. Many of the sites are live for about four or five days before disappearing, he said.
Cybercriminals typically lure users to such sites by using spam mail or by hijacking and using domains that appear to be legitimate sites, he said. Sometimes, users can also get directed to such sites when they click on shared objects within a Web page, such as a banner advertisement or a visitor counter, he said.
Often such sites use IP addresses to ensure that they deliver the malicious code just once in order to minimize the chance of being detected, Ollmann said. Some are even beginning to compile lists of IP addresses of Web sites belonging to security vendors to ensure that visitors from such sites are not targeted with malicious content at all, he said.
Many of these Web sites use sophisticated obfuscation techniques to evade detection, he said. Java scripts, for instance, are often used to “basically encrypt the contents within a page” to hide information from signature-based detection technologies, Ollmann said.
The criminals have two ways of acting:first, you get installed a dropper, a trojan downloader which is later activated to download the malicious payload. A malicious program can be truncated into two or many bits, and then, when needed, reassembled. Scary, indeed. You don,t even konw what hit your pc….
Source: http://www.computerworld.com.au
Spyware Digital Clock!
Well, I wouldn,t have thought one like these…a spyware digital clock, but yes…there is. It,s a real beauty,a pearl if you want. You leave your home but the spy is on and watching. When you return, you plug in a usb cable and download the movie on the computer, simple and efficient. Well, a pervert thought just slipped my mind, you can see unwanted video content, your wife doing bad things with thieves or not…But if your boss had given you such a present, how would you feel…for such a greek present..imagine…
And everything is so simple, it is about just a simple digital clock, which has a tiny digital video camera which records when it ,,feels,, movements inside the house. The resolution is not a great one, only 320*240, but enough to…you,ve guessed…to spy.
Conclusion is….spyware is everywhere, even (and more often) where you couldn,t imagine. Yes, be afraid, the Borg Star Trek society is coming close to you….and you can,t fight against it, because you can,t fight against the progress, and progress destroys humans…little by little, step by step…
Source: http://pcnews.ro
Stanford University:The Internet must be totally reinvented
,,The researchers from Stanford University announced that “Internet in actual form has serious lacks and of the resolving of those it depends the survival of this as a global infrastructure of comunications.”
,,More,we believe that Internet deficiencies can,t be solved by conventional incrementations and compatibility methods with older systems that are used today in scientific researches and in networks designing.Searches program we are working for intends to eliminate this osification of networks.,,
The researchers want to project a more rapid and safe infrastructure,capable to sustain last generation software applications which already intensely solicitate the existent networks.In project are involved also top brand companies like Cisco,Deutsche Telekom and NEC.The research will cover domains like networks architecture,network applications,hardware network equipments technologies,security,economic aspects and long term development policies.These components will evolve or will be entirely changed during the program,s unreeling.
The first steps of the research project name Ethane are intended to improve the efficiency of using wireless and add an entirely new approach of companies security imperatives.Detailed explanations of the researchers can be found at http://cleanslate.stanford.edu/CleanSlateWhitepaperV2.pdf. The first ideas of the researchers will be publically expressed on the ,, Clean Slate Design for the Internet,, which will take place on 21 march inside of the university.
Source:http://www.gecadnet.ro/securitate/stiri
SUA:Online frauds cost almost 198,4 millions $ in 2006
The Internet became a multifunctional tool,useful for the worldwide cybercrooks. The annual report,published by Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) for 2006 shows that the Internet was used for launching 9 different types of frauds,and there were used in this way credit cards, cheques and online auctions.
In the year 2006 they were 207.492 complaints, their total value counts over 198,4 milioane $, the biggest loss registered by users until now. Almost 45% reffered to online frauds auctions.Another favoured method of the hackers for the past time was the threat with death by email.
FBI made a profile of the hackers - three quarts are men, 61% live in USA, other countries on the top of the list were Great Britain, Nigeria, Canada, Romania and Italy.
The victims were men aging 30 and 40 years old, the loss counting up to almost 724$. The biggest sums were taken by “nigerian letters”, with 5.100$ per frauda. 74% of victims were contacted by e-mail and 26 % accessed various web sites.
IC3, apppeared in year 2000 as a partnership between FBI and National White Collar Crime Center, and is functioning as a colecting center of the reports that concern cyber crimes, which then are solved by competent authorities. Statitics for year 2006 don,t represent the situation of all cyber crimes,because most of these are never reported.
Source:http://www.gecadnet.ro/securitate
Symantec contradicts McAfee,saying USA is the king land of hackers
A recent security report of McAfee said that the most dangerous internet domains from the world come from Romania,Russia and the tiny Island of Tokelau.Well,it seems that reality is different,coming from the mouth of Symantec, the main worldwide security software market leader.
As for servers used for buying or selling stolen personal information, 51 percent were located in the U.S.The trojans are the main threat,because they take control over a PC turning it into a zombie,and using it on attacks like denial of service,pumping out spam and other bad things.The trojans accounted about for 45 percent of the top 50 malicious software applications, according to the Company from Cupertino, California.Spam makes up an astounding 59 percent of all email traffic, the report said, an increase of 5 percent over the first half of the year.
The practice of phishing showed a 6 percent increase.About 46 percent of all known phishing sites were located in the U.S.Here were 27 percent fewer unique phishing messages on weekends than weekdays.It seems that hackers have no spare time on week-ends.
Some software is more or less vulnerable than others, the report found. Among browsers, Mozilla’s are the least vulnerable, with the shortest “window of exposure.” And among databases, Oracle’s had the most vulnerabilities.
One rare area of decrease was in case of the worms. At 52 percent of malicious code threats, this type of malware was down from 75 percent in the preceding period.
Well,it,s a good news that we have a second report,but who should we believe more?Symantec says some things totally different inf ront of its market competitor,McAfee.But one thing is for sure,the threats are on the rise and we should all take all the measures to protect against them.
Source:http://www.topix.net
