Computer hackers have once again launched an attack on social networking giant Facebook, sending a massive deluge of spam e-mails to the four hundred million Facebook account holders. The purpose of this latest cyber attack is the fool the more gullible of Facebook’s account holder into revealing their current passwords and from there on in, the gateway is open to gathering more juicy information on the computer owner or owner’s account details.  

According to industry security leaders, McAfee anyone opening the emails will find a simple message stating that their Facebook passwords have been reset. (Sample below)

If anyone foolish or not sufficiently  alert  that opens the attachment , all hell will break loose, and not one but several types of malware will open up, including one capable of drilling through a computer’s Firewall and  stealing any  passwords.

This “old fashioned” method of attack on Facebook users is a new attempt by hackers to breach their defences, with most attacks coming directly through the company’s own internal email system. The way the e-mail was worded might indicate a certain lack of sophistication from the hackers, something that could not be said about the large artillery of malware enclosed in the attachment.

Facebook’s security and public relations departments seemed reluctant to comment on the specific case, pointing only to a status update that they had posted on their web site in Wednesday of last week, that warned their users about the spoofed email as well as advising users to delete the email as welling as warning their network friends.

McAfee’s director of malware research and communications, Dave Marcus, pointed out that that the hackers may well have sent out tens of millions of spam across Europe, the United States and Asia since the campaign began less than a week ago, and their estimates are that millions of computers not carrying sufficiently powerful and sophisticate anti-virus software will more than likely been affected. He went on to explain that they reason why hackers seem to have a soft spot for Facebook is because of their massive client base. “With Facebook as your target you potentially have 400 million people that can click on the attachment. If you get 10 percent success, that’s 40 million” Marcus explained.

For More information on protecting your PC visit http://www.mcafee-downloads.co.uk/privacy-security-virus-information.htm

Tags: Anti Virus, Facebook, Mcafee, Trojan Horses, Viruses

UK Cabinet Minister Ed Miliband as well as several other members of the British upper class are among those who have fallen victim to a

phishing attack through Twitter. The virus attack came to light when UK Secretary for Energy and Climate Change Miliband began to notice that his Twitter account was transmitting spam tweets, sending messages of a highly explicit nature. The message included a link that invited visitors to enter their personal information, which then fell into the hands of the hackers behind the phishing scheme.  

Twitter were not slow to issue a warning, asking subscribers to keep their eyes open for direct messages (DMs)  containing phrases like  ” is this you??’ or ‘LOL is this you’ as well as  a link. If they receive such a message, they should discard it immediately.  Anyone who does fall victim to the scam will not only be likely to pass on their sensitive personal information as well as sending out some fairly lurid messages to friends and foes alike.

Also known to be a definite victim of the phishing scam is a key executive of the online branch of a major UK bank, who has seemingly spent the better part of last week on the phone apologising and explaining that the messages (as well as the offers they contained) did not come from him.  Others who refuse to either confirm or deny that they may have fallen victim include another very highly placed Labour official to a number of print and radio journalists.

Software security analysts have reported an increased interest in compromising Twitter accounts, supposedly as a reaction to Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo’s recent steps that will increasingly integrate nearly real-time data such as Twitter posts into their search engine results. This has apparently left a number of openings for hackers to use Twitter as well as the other social networking tools to target keywords. These keywords particularly include news events, which they use to secure prominent positions. When a surfer clicks on the link, malware, .such as that used to affect Ed Miliband among others is then introduced onto the computer or mobile phone.

Such a short term yet potentially damaging attack goes to show that once again people who like instant access to information cannot afford to leave anything to chance. Phishers are working flat out to devise new schemes to harvest sensitive and often classified information, that .can cause tremendous harm if it falls into the wrong hands as well as severe  embarrassment in many cases.

That’s why every individual and organisation should take their internet security very seriously.   

http://www.mcafee-downloads.co.uk/

Tags: Anti Virus, Anti-Phishing software, Digital Download Products, Ed Miliband, Mcafee, phished, Phishing, phishing fraudsters, Phishing Scams, Trojan Horses, Twitter, Viruses

Anyone who ever saw the film “Gremlins” will remember that he film had a very important message part form being kind of cute? It was about a little boy who wanted to claim as a pet a very unusual but potentially very dangerous gremlin. Although before agreeing, its former owner made the boy and his family promises that they would never beak any one of three simple rules. If not the consequences could be catastrophic.  Of course the boy broke the rules and that cute little gremlin in the corner became a monster. The same thing can happen to your shiny new computer if you don’t observe an even simpler rule.  And that is, to make sure your computer is protected from viruses at all time.

Owning a computer and having it in your home, believe it or not, is a responsibility and one that should be taken very seriously.  If you don’t you will soon discover a load of hackers, spammers, and viruses have invaded your computer and with it your life. That means that a computer owner can ill afford not to follow some basic steps in protecting their home computer and the information that it contains.  

The most important step is to make sure that a proper anti-virus program has been installed. A sure sign of a worthwhile anti-virus computer software is that that it is on sale at reputable stores, and not just online. You really have to take a second look at software that is only available for download and does not come in a boxed, CDrom version.

It has to be said that here are no shortage of virus protection programs available both on the internet of in office apply centres and computer stores.  Never install an anti-virus program that suddenly appears as pop up on your computer. There is no surer sign that at best the program is a fake and at worse it contains even more viruses!

Many people like to have the security of having a boxed version of the programs they buy as a backup, although these days it really isn’t necessary.  When you bring your new computer home, you will most always find that a trial version of one of the top antivirus programs will have been bundled with it, and you have nothing to lose by giving it a try. If you are happy with it, then there is no reason not to update to a licensed version when the trail period runs out. The other option is try a few other virus protection programs for a trial, and then once you have decided which one suit you best, either download it from the internet whilst ordering a back up boxed version which will be delivered to your home in a few days.

Whatever to do keep your computer protected and don’t let the gremlins in.

Tags: Anti Virus, Digital Download Products, Gremlins, Mcafee, Trojan Horses, Viruses

Microsoft have been around the computer industry for almost as long as it has existed, and it would be highly unfair to say that without their contribution , the communications industry and the World itself would not be in the state that it is today. Nobody and no company are perfect, and Microsoft has had their share of problems over the years with their software. The various versions of the Office suite have always been famous for its glitches which they always seem to clear up with the next version, only to see some new ones appear.

Having problems with products that are mostly meant for online use is one thing, but when you continue to have problems with the software that you develop for online use, then the problem becomes much more pressing.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has always had some major question marks hanging over it, since it first appeared in 1995. These question marks have grown larger over the years and have become increasingly troublesome as the security issues among web browsers has come more and more to the forefront. 

In comparison to the other browsers available on the market, IE has been shown to be especially vulnerable to viruses with the recent major cyber attacks emanating from the Far East really demonstrating its weaknesses.

Major companies and institutions had their computers invaded and not by the most sophisticated of Trojan horses through a major flaw in the IE security system, the flaw was soon patched but by then all the damage had been done. This recent security incident again set of an outcry, and once again a lot of people said goodbye to IE to shift their allegiances to another of the browsers available.

With these kinds of incidents occurring on a regular basis it is easy to see why IE everybody’s cup of tea isn’t, but what people tend to forget is that it also takes around 80% of the World market. That way it stands to reason that it will also be affected by a lot more viruses.

No matter which browser you have on your computer, you have to have virus protection software installed. Hackers are working around the clock looking for the slightest opportunity to introduce a virus into your computer, and the only option you have is to keep the door securely locked.     

As companies as large as Adobe or Google can come under attack and have their computers infiltrated by a virus then you certainly can. 

http://www.mcafee-downloads.co.uk/

Tags: Anti Virus, Browser, Digital Download Products, IE, Internet Explorer, Mcafee, Microsoft, Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Trojan, Trojan Horses, Virus

Ongoing research on the subject of adware infiltration has shown that he state of online security threats in general and adware infiltration is growing in tremendous leaps and bound. Especially worrying is the reports that what not so long ago looked like being a respectable and credible website not so long ago has degenerated to become  a den for   malware and spam. Most of the leading virus protection software developers are working around the clock to ” batten down the hatches” against these ongoing threats, but suffice it say that with around  forty billion websites  online, they have their work cut out to keep pace. Reports are that there was more than a two hundred percent increase in reports of malicious websites in the last six months of 2009, with almost three quarters of the web sites found to contain some form of malicious code. Were existing websites that had been infiltrated by malware?  

So how come it appears to be so simple for adware to infiltrate your personal computer? Even when we take tremendous steps to make sure that our back door is protected we discover that our front door is blatantly under threat.  What we have to understand is that the internet today generates billion in turnover, and of any currency you can think. Internet fraud today is a massive industry who have decided to stake their future on robbing the unsuspecting instead of applying their talents to more positive aspects of the online revolution.

Adware, if it succeeds in infiltrating your computer, can and will play havoc with your computer’s registry.  

To begin with once the adware has gained control of your registry as an unwelcome guest, it will begin to take up more and more space, and your computer will begin to malfunction, as the registry has been designed  I to guide you every  time  you search  your  computer’s operating system., and gradually  the registry becomes  so slow  that it fails to provide  you  with any information.  Even worse, these annoying and unwelcome ads will begin to pop up all the time, and it your friends and colleagues have also been affected by an adware invasion they will begin to point accusing fingers at you.

So how to avoid all this unpleasantness?  By realising that owning a computer is not a game, and the only way to keep your computer clean of viruses is by making sure that the most powerful anti-virus program that you can lay your hands on is working on your behalf, and around the clock.

For more information on protecting your PC or Laptop visit http://www.mcafee-downloads.co.uk/

Tags: Adware, Anti Virus, Mcafee, virus protection software

Adobe discover what it is like to be under constant attack from hackers

Under fire software giant Adobe have released yet another fix for two critical security flaws discovers in their Reader and Acrobat programs. The fixes came in the wake of a recent report that showed that 80 percent of all virus intrusions trough Adobe’s software in December of last year came through their much used Portable Document Files (PDFs).

The out of sequence patch is for Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 9.3 to 9.3.1 for the Windows, Macintosh and UNIX versions of Reader, as well as the Windows and Macintosh version of Acrobat. Those computer users, who are still using the 8.2 version of either program, will need to update to 8.2.1 to receive a suitable patch for the inherent security flaws that were discovered. Those wishing to download Adobe’s update, need to click on Help | Check for Updates from within either the Reader of Acrobat program.

The second security flow is potentially the most dangerous is it could allow an attacker to infiltrate either versions of the program and execute commands.

In addition to the problems with its Reader and Acrobat software, Adobe Systems are reported to be preparing this time to deal with a critical issue in their Flash Player. Analysts reckon that the Flash Player flaw  might allow a  hacker  to trick a Web browser into carrying out actions that would be detrimental to the software and the computer that it is played on, although can’t be used to directly install unauthorized software onto  a victim’s computer.

Normally Adobe patches Reader and Acrobat in quarterly security updates, but Adobe is being forced to rush out next Tuesday’s fix because these products are also susceptible to the Flash Player flaw.  Adobe’s Flash is so widely used it is essential that companies and individuals update their installations of the Flash Player at the earliest possible opportunity

Adobe’s security has come under scrutiny over the past year as attackers have increasingly leveraged Reader and Acrobat flaws to hack into computers. Because Reader and Flash Player are installed on almost all desktop computers, a well-crafted attack has the potential to affect considerably more victims than one that targets Internet Explorer or Firefox.

Adobe’s next scheduled Patch update is due April 13 201

For more information on protecting your PC or Laptop visit http://www.mcafee-downloads.co.uk/

Tags: Adobe, Adobe Reader, Anti Virus, Flash Player, Mcafee, Trojan Horses, Viruses

Mozilla have made a recent announcement that they have discovered that two experimental add-ons for the Firefox operating system, Master Filer and the Sothink Web Video Downloader version 4 have been infiltrated with a virus which has infected victim PCs with a Trojan horse virus when either add-on was installed.

Especially worrying for Mozilla was that both of the small-distribution extensions were  available for download  via Firefox’s add-on site, which led computer owners who run Firefox in preference to Microsoft IE can no longer be certain that Firefox will not be susceptible to virus attacks. Needless to say, both of the infected add-ons have since been removed from the list of Firefox opt-ins. Before the presence of the viruses had been picked up on, Mozilla have estimated that Master Filer add-on had been downloaded about 600 times and installed the Bifrose Trojan to the unsuspecting public. The Sothink Web Video Downloader version 4 was much more in demand, having been downloaded about 4,000 times and have slipped in the LdPinch Trojan.

 According to the industry security specialists, the malicious add-ons managed to sneak by the solitary and yet to be named malware scanner used by Mozilla.  In a classic example of locking the stable door after the Trojan horse has infiltrated around 5,000 computers, Mozilla have announced that they have begun scanning all of their third party add-ons with not one but two additional malware scanners, which are yet to be named,  

Firefox have suggested to those people who have installed either of these malicious add-ons rushed to point out that un-installing them will not lead to the removal of the Trojan horses from their system at this stage. In order to say goodbye to these unwelcome guests, computer owners will be required to run a separate antivirus scan to clean their system. Mozilla have been kind enough to include a list of antivirus software currently known to detect the particular Trojans involved in their most recent post.

Mozilla Firefox’s embarrassment and their subsequent reaction to the security failure only goes to emphasize why  a single  anti-virus scanner might not be sufficient as rarely is one program strong enough to pick up on every possible virus. Only the strongest and most versatile anti-virus programs can carry out this task.

Tags: antivirus software, Firefox, Master Filer, Mozilla Firefox, Sothink Web Video Downloader version 4

At one time thieves and robbers were limited to where they could work from for geographical reasons.  They had to take into account how much petrol would fit into the tank of their getaway car, how much swag they could carry and if they could plan a decent escape route that would take them away from the scene of the crime as fast as possible, before the road blocks went up.  

Nowadays thanks to the wonders of the internet cyber-theft knows no boundaries and super hackers have found ways to make it possible to carry out crimes that bring in rewards of tens of millions of dollars without having to get up out of their easy chair,

From their havens around the World, with centres being as far apart as the Far East and Eastern Europe, cyber criminals can employ the latest spyware to extract information on individuals or company’s sensitive financial details.  Once they have that information at their disposal the sky is the limit to as how much money they can extract. And the chances are that nobody will notice till it is long gone. Cyber crimes are very difficult to solve as fingerprints or any other form of evidence is left at the scene.

So basically the only way that a computer owner or operator can protect their information and security us to set up roadblocks before the crime is committed. These days information highways are getting broader all the time, and the thieves that travel on them are getting smarter and more sophisticated as fast as the companies who provide software such as web browsers and operating systems progress. That means that these roadblocks whose role it will be to prevent the infiltration of viruses, malwares and worms into a computer need to be equal to the task of manning the roadblocks.

That’s why companies and individuals who can’t afford to take chances and  need to know that they are being protected at all times go for the most powerful and professional anti-virus software that is available on the market.

These raids can come from everywhere and at any time of the day or night, so remember that a good anti-virus program never sleeps. 

For more information of anti virus soft ware visit http://www.mcafee-downloads.co.uk/

Tags: Anti Virus, cyber-criminals, cyber-theft, cybercriminals, Fraud, Phishing Scams, Spam

A bug that has lain undiscovered in Windows operating systems since its very early days was finally eradicated in the recent Microsoft Patch Tuesday.

The bug goes back to the days when  DOS operating system was much closer to the surface in Windows NT 3.1, and, unbelievable though it may seem, has been carried forward to this day in every updated version of Microsoft’s market leading operating system.  As well as the oldest bug in history, which saw the light of day well before computer viruses and malware was ever dreamed about, a further 25 chinks in  will be “patched over” with information that at least five of the bugs are “critical”

However the most veteran of all Microsoft’s bugs is very lightweight and the security researcher from Google who unearthed the flaw  in January of this year did notice that  it allows newer versions of Windows still  to run programs that date back from the DOS era.

Google’s researcher quickly found a way to exploit this utility in Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and 2008 as well as Windows Vista and Windows 7, and it would only have been a matter of time before hackers would have also come across the same potential security flaw, if it had continued to remain “un-patched”

As well as the ancient bug, at least five of the bugs in Windows that are too patched were serious enough to allow hackers to carry out various actions that could effectively lead to the hijack of a Windows PC and upload some fairly damaging viruses to it. The current Patch Tuesday will also deal with bugs discovered in most versions of Windows as well as Office XP, Office 2003 and even the Office 2004 version for Apple Macintosh machines.

Meanwhile this update is far away from being the largest that Microsoft has ever released, with the security update for October 2009 taking the prize. That particular patch tackled a total of 34 vulnerabilities, with eight of them being rated at the highest level of critical.

Last month, Microsoft also broke a few precedents by releasing an “out of band” patch to cope with a serious vulnerability in Internet Explorer that was being vigorously exploited online, with the most prominent infringement being used to attack Google in China.

Following the attack on Google, many other cyber criminals started seeking ways to exploit the loophole.  Further security research has brought about the discovery of Internet Explorer’s vulnerability to an attack that will allow hackers to view the files held on a victim’s machine.

The issue of security online is coming increasingly to the fore, and computers are vulnerable to attack from every quarter. The means to protect a computer and the valuable information that it contains can only be done through installing the most powerful and readily updatable virus protection programs available.

 For more infomation on how to protect your pc or laptop security http://mcafee-downloads.co.uk/

Tags: DOS, Google, Microsoft, operating systems, Windows, Windows 7, Windows operating systems, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Recent reports have it that hackers are attempting to steal the identities of Twitter users, through a fairly sophisticated phishing scheme. What appears to be making the scheme easier to spot is that the hackers are bulk e-mailing subscribers, with some attempted victims, receiving up to ten e-mails a day containing the following message.

“Due to concern that your account may have been compromised in a phishing attack that took place off-Twitter, your password was reset. Please create a new password by opening this link in your browser” Needless to say the link was false, and those who fell victim to the scam had inadvertently given away all of their account information.

Yet who can be truly surprised that the latest internet sensation would become a target of an online phishing campaign. After all, they are only falling in the footsteps of Facebook, Google, Hotmail, EarthLink, Yahoo, and Comcast among others.  Estimates are that more than one million accounts may have been compromised, resulting in login details falling in to the unscrupulous hands of phishers.

The earliest examples of phishing that were seen on the internet were the almost laughable “Nigerian prince” scams that were very active around five years, although quite a few people fell victim to them. Another more recent example was a bulk e-mail campaign by phishers posing as representatives of PayPal, asking for account holders for their user name and password, again bringing surprisingly good results for the hackers and bad news for those who fell victim.

Some of the profits from these phishes appear to have been invested in the next generation of phishing, known as “spear phishing,” in which the web fraudsters have used a friendly and local cover to attempt to prize sensitive information from the unsuspecting public. If scammers send an email blast to an entire local community, under the disguise of a bank or local department store, the chances are that a few people will click on the link before news spreads.

This is the reason why internet users are urged to regularly update their passwords, even though it can some inconvenience. Yet the inconvenience will certainly bear no comparison to that caused if a person’s identity is stolen, Another, and probably more efficient method of preventing cyber theft, is install the most powerful anti-virus software on the market and to take every step to make sure that it is maintained and  up to date to protect themselves from  phishing fraudsters.

Authour Box

If you would like to know more about how to protect your PC and/or Laptop visit Mcafee Downloads

Tags: Comcast, EarthLink, Facebook, Google, Hotmail, phishing campaign, phishing fraudsters, Phishing Scams, Trojan Horses, Viruses, Yahoo