Spyware protection

A warning against "Olympic torch" virus, spreading via e-mails, is appeared to be a simple hoax as such virus does not exist. The "Olympic Torch" hoax urges users to be on guard against e-mails with the subject line "Invitation."

The hoax states that that particular non-existing virus is "the most destructive virus ever" as it “destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc.” Here’s the part of the hoax warning: “Do not open any message with an attached filed called "Invitation" regardless of who sent it. It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which "burns" the whole hard disc C of your computer. This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list, that is why you should send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.” While a hoax itself is not harmful, it is quite annoying and wastes your traffic and traffic of your friends you fall for e-mailing this.

There has been reported a new version of the Bagle worm which spreads itself via e-mails together with a sweet words of love poetry decorated with warming heart belated valentine.

When you receive e-mail with subject lines such as "Love you with all my heart!" or "Come Be With Me, my Love!" it could be hard to resist an urge to open peek in what’s inside. And inside is a romantic poetry by Robert Frost decorated with fluffy hearts and one broken image or video to load which you are offered to click on the link. And that is when romance ends and destruction begins: if the attached file is executed, the warm install itself on the PC and starts to spread itself to other computers.

There has been discovered the very first virus that can endanger Apple Mac OS X platform. The warm, OSX/Leap-A or OSX/Oompa-A, sneaks to user’s PC via iChat instant messengers.

The virus disguises itself as a file called latestpics.tgz and sends itself to every person in the contact list of the infected user. After the archived file is opened, the virus hides behind a JPEG graphic icon pretending to pose no threat, while infecting all the files on the PC. So it is high time to accept for the owners of MAC that their computers need anti-malware solution and protection against viruses the same as any other PCs if they wish to keep their data safe.

Microsoft Corp. declared that they bring an action against Secure Computer LLC, based in White Plains, N.Y. Microsoft is accusing this company of marketing a fake anti-spyware product.

The software owned by Secure Computer LLC and named Spyware Cleaner has been advertised via spam, emails, hyperlink ads and pop-ups. If clicked on the link, the message pop-ups claiming that user’s PC is in danger of virus infection and offering a free scan. The scan result always contained a virus, which Spyware Cleaner can delete successfully. User was suggested to buy a full version of the application for $49.95. But the catch was that this version was unable to eliminate viruses and, moreover, it altered a computer's registry making PC vulnerable to harmful malware.

In Japan, a suspected spyware developer has been arrested, who stole user’s internet banking passwords with the help of his illegal creations and drew out money from online accounts of his victims.

The suspect, Atsushi Takekawa, presumably committed the above-mentioned crimes together with Kiichi Hirayama and they stole over 11 million yen from nine accounts at Mizuho Bank, eBank Corp and Japan Net Bank. Takekawa claims that the ringleader of the crimes is Hirayama, who asked him to develop the spyware. He also states that he has become a criminal trying to earn money for living. The case is currently under investigation.

There have been about 500 reported attempts of phishing applying the bogus https technique this year. The phishers take advantage of the popularity of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

As SSL technology guarantees the credibility of sites, the plotters use this to lull the vigilance of users: they hacked legitimate sites or its frames to look like banking sites, or bought original certificates for domain names close to these banking sites to be able use the SSL lock icon. While these tricks are not sufficient to prevent browser warnings about the certificate hoaxing, most users don’t pay attention to them and provide phishers with their personal information, such as account passwords and credit card numbers.

Popular AdSense advertisements of Google have been hijacked to advertise pornography and gambling sites. It is said that the malware intrudes to user’s PC through a website and then generates a fake ads in place of the real ones.

The fake ads are hard to distinguish from the original ones, but they all promote sites with improper content. As advertising of gambling and adult sites are prohibited on AdSense, the fact alone should put you on guard. Google said that the problem is carefully investigated, but the other threats this Trojan can possibly pose remain yet unknown.