Fake Avs On The Rise In August

Fake Avs On The Rise In August

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Fake antivirus applications turn out to be the most common malware threat during the previous month, reported Fortinet's security specialists. 58% of malware infections which targeted vulnerable computers and tried to enter them in August are known to be security tools that pretend to provide reliable and effective services but, in fact, their only intention is to mislead unaware victims into paying for the full version of the fake software.

The most widely spread fake anti-spyware program is found to be the FraudLoad malware. This was revealed by Derek Manky, Fortinet's senior security strategist. He also explained that it is common for this malware to install unreal antivirus software on targeted PCs. However the specialists in the Fortinet labs reported that for this infection, which is loaded only after the system is rebooted, as well as for other similar attackers, it is common to download other malware, for example spambots.

The second threat which was observed to have had a peak in August is the Zeus botnet. The malicious intruder took the second place in the monthly analysis. Nevertheless, this was no surprise for the researchers in Fortinet as they have obviously expected that Zeus will take a forward position having in mind the popularity of the botnet. Another fact which predetermined that experts will not be surprised by this results was that the source code of the botnet was hacked in May this year.

"We believe it's highly likely that we will continue to see Zeus and SpyEye - another popular botnet whose source code was also recently cracked and leaked publicly - to spread in waves in the coming months", said Manky.

Furthermore, the latest report revealed also other ways of spreading computer malware. Spam emails which contain compromised links or deceitful attachments were also discussed to be extremely dangerous to computer security. That is why their representatives were also included in the report for August. Fortinet provided information that the W32/Yakes botnet along with four other modifications was targeting more and more victims. The infections were prompting the user to submit his bank account details. To be more convincing about their reliability, the intruders used fake financial forms, which seemed to be absolutely legitimate. As you see, financial fraud is spreading rapidly in every possible way and hackers are determined to make you believe in their scam messages.

The spam emails which are aimed at misleading you into submitting your bank account details usually include a warning like "Credit card is blocked". This message is shocking indeed and if the recipient is trapped into thinking there is some real problem with his card, he will probably be interested in seeing the content of the email. Usually the lines in the email give details about the credit card of the victim and the reason why it was blocked. Probably the victim of the deception will see that the reason for the troubles with the card is that he was involved in some illegal operations. The text will be intended to scare the recipient into thinking he broke some law. If he wants to fix the problem, he will be prompted to open some attached file with unknown content, where he will find more details. The truth is that when you open the attachment, the Yakes botnet is automatically downloaded and installed on your PC.

As you can see computer fraud is spreading quickly and hackers' creations pose a real risk to our personal and financial safety. For that reason you have to be extremely cautious and avoid visiting insecure web pages as well as opening emails from unknown senders.

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PC1news.com



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