If you were computer conscious in the 1990s, you probably remember these often laughable but inevitably highly dangerous e-mails that would come in with amazing regularity from Nigeria, which was at that time, one of Africa’s richest countries.  At that time of considerable security upheaval in the country, it became a common fact that the government had decided to freeze international bank accounts of the families and friends of former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha.  The e-mails would come from individuals who were  claiming to be  family members  of the dictator himself or high ranking members of his government who were no longer with us, and who had left  millions of dollars  in Swiss bank accounts so that the Nigerian authorities could not get their greedy hands on it. All that was required was to pay  a few dollars for the information on how the fund and those successful in releasing it, could earn a finders of fee of 15% of the sum, which could add up to a few hundred thousand dollars, pounds or whatever. Needless to say no one ever saw the finder’s fee, as the money never existed.

Luckily all but a very stupid or very greedy few fell victim to this highly unsophisticated scam, known as an “advance fee fraud,” However the proceeds must have been well invested because over the years Nigeria has become a mini world center for phishing scams, some of them fairly sophisticated, using fake sites that steal e-mail login information and send distress calls to contacts.

Nigerian phishers are reported to have focused their attention on the social-networking sites to find potential victims for their advance fee scams evolved targeting the more naive people that might use instant messaging and online social networks and seem to be more likely to answer such a call

The Nigerian Government’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are well aware of the bad reputation that they have built up over the years and in 2009 launched an awareness campaign to warn citizens of the country of the bad reputation they were earning Nigeria and the punishment that would be meted out to those caught in such nefarious activities. The EFCC also conducted raids on cybercafés in Lagos and other Nigerian cities, and made a few arrests, but the problem has not only not been solved it appears to have gotten worse.

 In one of the latest scams, e-mail accounts have been compromised and messages are sent to everyone on the contacts list, saying that e-mail account owner has been the victim of a robbery in Nigeria needs money to sort out local expense before they can fly home.  Needless to say, someone with the right anti-virus software in place need never fall victim to a Nigerian phishing scam.

This article was provide by http://www.mcafee-downloads.co.uk/ 

Tags: Anti Virus, Digital Download Products, Mcafee, Phishing Scams, Spam, Trojan Horses, Viruses

Most people are reluctant to take the news on board, but mobile phones are to all intents and purposes mini computers and as such are as vulnerable to hackers as anything else that is hooked to the internet. This fact was hammered how a few days ago with the news that a Vodafone HTC Magic mobile phone from was found to contain malware. The Trojan horse attack was discovered completely by chance by a person who works for one of the less well known anti-virus security software developers. She discovered the virus after connecting her phone to her home computer to download some photographs. The alert worker was amazed and bemused to discover that a password stealing Trojan was in residence. The hackers had programmed their Trojan so that it would only activate when transmitting to a Windows based computer, which is becoming increasingly common these days.

The virus software industry is becoming aware of an increase in this trend, with a number of the leading companies now offering a specialist program for mobile phone protection.  The mystery that remains unsolved is how the two virus files with the titles of “autorun.inf” and “autorun.exe” had found themselves on the phone, with suspicions that a botnet had succeeded in infiltrating it.  Further investigation by Vodafone found that no less than 3,000 phones, all of them sold through the company’s Spanish subsidiary had been infected. 

Vodafone were apparently taken aback by the attack, and hastily released the following statement:

“Vodafone takes the security and privacy of its customers extremely seriously and launched an immediate investigation into this incident. Following extensive Quality Assurance testing on HTC Magic handsets in several of our operating companies, early indications are that this was an isolated local incident. Vodafone keeps its security processes under constant review as new threats arise, and we will take all appropriate actions to safeguard our customers’ privacy.”

Reading between the lines, no device is safe from cyber hackers, and the fact that they were able and willing to plant some fairly powerful malware and let it lie in wait till it would find a PC to attack, shows the extent of the sophistication and guile that they are prepared to go to in search of the rich pickings of cyber crime.

This article has been provided by Mcafee Downloads For More Information on protecting ypur data visit Mcafee Downloads

Tags: Digital Download Products, Malware, Mcafee, Trojan Horses, Viruses, Vodafone

German web browsers were reported as being confused and uncertain about their internet security after the German government issued a warning about security issues on the Firefox web browsing software. The warning came from a cyber-security response team, discovered a critical vulnerability in the that if breached would  hackers to distribute  freely  distribute malware through the most recent  3.6 version of  Firefox Older versions  are not vulnerable to the flaw.

Confusion reigned as browsers, who had recently been advised by the German government to switch to Firefox just a month ago after the German government issued a warning against surfing with Internet Explorer, after vulnerability caused a wave of Cyber attacks that reached web sites around the globe.  After that warning reports have it that just over 300,000 German computer owners downloaded Firefox on one weekend alone.

At the time a number of internet security analysts expressed their doubts about the need to switch browsers every time such an attack took place, with a number even suggesting that Firefox might not be an invulnerable as the German government seemed to think. And as the events of the last few days show, they have proven to be correct.

In the meantime Mozilla who produce Firefox have suggested that Firefox followers should upgrade to the Firefox 3.6.2 version which is  still in its Beta format  and due to be released at the end of March, or wait till they rush-release a patch that will seal the breach.

Analysts have suggested that it would not be wise to switch to another browser or even an older version of Firefox but instead to hang off till the security update becomes available.”

Firefox was reported to be not immediately available for comment on the situation other than to say that the patch that is being produced to protect against cross-platform vulnerability a week will now be released a week ahead of schedule.

This tragic-comic situation once again illustrates how important it is to have the most powerful anti-virus software available installed to protect computers and their owners from this relentless wave of virus attacks.

This article has been provided by Mcafee Downloads For More Information on protecting ypur data visit Mcafee Downloads

Tags: Cyber attacks, cyber-security, Firefox, Internet Explorer, virus attacks

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.   

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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