Computer Security : important caveat not all websites are safe

Everyday we've seen people get infections on there systems and most don't understand that they've been duped and have installed the software themselves.

In this article we will talk about how most people will willingly install these Trojans and virus themselves for several different reasons.

ineluctable truth about Human Nature

These malware authors know all about how people think.    It usually happens when people think they are seeing something provocative and something you can watch in your private homes.   There are several different ways to do this:

• News stories --  Alas this is always being used to spread malware.   For example Erin Andrews Peephole malware.


• Fake photos files -- This is also a very common ploy, to make people think it is a Photo but in reality it is an Executable.  Example : MichealJackson.JPG.EXE


• Fake Codecs -- You visit what you think is a popular movie and it says you need to install a codec.  This is another way for people to get infected with a Trojan, or a Virus.   For example : [intlink id="3739" type="post"]Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince malware[/intlink].


• Fake PDF's --  There have been known exploits in the Adobe Reader and Adobe where a malware author can take control over the pc and install whatever they want into the system.  Example : Attackers Target New Adobe Flash/Reader Flaw

As you can see these are just a few but have been used in the past so it doesn't mean they won't be used in the future.   The Malware authors will also use Social sites to infect your pc, Here are a few common ones:

• You get a message that states "[intlink id="3662" type="post"]Look at this[/intlink]" Most of the twitter users were very curious and had not seen alot of malware on twitter and was very trusting, so they would willingly go to these sites not expecting to get a trojan or virus.


• You get a message in face book "You look just awesome in this video."  You try to go to the URL and it says You have to update your flash player.   This is another common way to get the user to install a trojan or virus and think it is a legitimate update.


• Twitter Spambots --  You get a message about a Registry cleaner but it is a rogue Antivurs.  You down load this software and without thinking run it and your infected.   Twitter and facebook users are to relax to see just how dangerous links can be.

Most or all can be used as email also so you don't have to be on any site to recieved an attached file with something similar to that you see up there.   You must never download anything you know nothing about and if in doubt scan it with several virus scanners by uploading it to Virustotal that is a good site to see if some well known vendors consider this program or file to be a virus. These were just a few, I am sure I have missed several and will probably hear about this from the users. I encourage people to discuss this and talk about other ways this can happen.

I recommend:
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"Look At This" Twitter Malware Exposed!

VirusList released information about the[intlink id="3655" type="post"] Justse.Ru Video[/intlink] that people were being warned about last weekend.

It seems that it wasn't a Cross Site Scripting but an PDF exploit that was [intlink id="3114" type="post"]used to install Scareware[/intlink] but Virus List says it as a Fraudware.

[ad]It looks like they were trying to get people to buy [intlink id="3607" type="post"]fake Antivirus[/intlink] software called "System Security".    It looks like there was a silent download of the PDF and it tried various exploits to get this software installed.

Virus Total has stated that this looks to be the first time, in which one criminal group is looking at making money off of twitter and Facebook.   This could be the beginning of the onslaught of these types of things to continue in the next few months to years.

That is why it is so important to have an [intlink id="2205" type="page"]Anti-virus software and a good firewall[/intlink] to prevent this sort of thing from happening.  It is important to note to all who have a twitter account that you will need to start being more cautious when it comes to videos being put on twitter.  You May never see another video virus like this or you could see a dozen in one day it depends on how people react to this and try to prevent it in the future.   If you think you have the scareware installed that is System Security.   I have found the Removal instrtuctions for people who want to get it off your system.