Subscribe in a readerNew MSN Virus – New Year Photos
Another virus/worm has been spreading on MSN Messenger (also called Windows Live Messenger). It sends you a message with some text encouraging you to download some photos, then it sends you a file called:
Photos1-2008.zip
This zip file contains the virus. Ignore any messages you get with a file with the above name.
Can Apples be more secure?
The US Army has been upgrading their servers and workstations to Macs and are claiming they’re harder to hack (i.e. they’re more secure).
The primary reason they state is that fewer attacks are written for Macs than for Windows. This seems true for now.
One common weakness between all operating systems (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc) is the user. People can be tricked into clicking on things or carrying out other hazardous tasks no matter what computer they use (this is where security education comes in).
More details here.
Identity Theft From Call Centres
Identity theft can happen in many ways. Before computers people just stole mail from letterboxes and documents from people’s wallets (watch the movie Catch Me If You Can for an example).
Then when the internet came along criminals starting tricking people into handing over personal details, or they employ hackers to write spyware that achieves the same result.
A new identity theft trend emerging in the world is coming from call centres. Staff working at call centres have access to the person details of a lot of customers, and since a lot of call centres have been outsourced to countries such as India, the Philippines, etc, companies are having a difficult time keeping things under control.
There’s an article here that mentions a few of the crimes happening in call centres. In summary:
- Using mobile phones to take screenshots
- Quickly copying people’s details into hidden books
- Using USB drives to copy data
Theft of personal information is serious. The information can be easily sold, especially if staff feel they’re underpaid (a likely situation for overseas call centres).
It’s good to remember that in this day and age your personal details can be known to many parties, there isn’t much that’s still personal or secret. Be selective in what information you give to companies. And as mentioned previously don’t give personal details to call centre staff when they call you (instead of you calling them).
Ichitaro Exploit
It’s worthwhile pointing out that malware exists in every country and in every language. An exploit for a Japanese word processor called Ichitaro has been found.
When it’s used to open a .JTD file on Windows XP (with Service Pack 2 and running in Japanese) it’s possible for someone else to take control of the computer.
A patch was recently released by the manufacturer of Ichitaro, apply it from JustSystem’s web-site here.
Fake Security Renewals
There’s a trojan that has a tricky way of extorting money from users. It begins with a computer being infected with this particular trojan.
Then it shows an image on your screen (that won’t go away) telling you that you need to renew your security software (whether or not you have security doesn’t matter, this shows a fake screen). It gives you two options to pay for an update, both of which are part of the scam, the money goes into the pockets of the people who have spread this trojan.
Method 1: it asks you to send an SMS to a premium service, which costs you £10 (or the equivalent in your currency).
Method 2: it asks you to call a phone number, which is also a premium service and costs you the equivalent of US$35 (different prices and currencies in different countries).
Have a look at the screen-shots on this web page to recognise the fake renewal request.
The message reads (complete with spelling errors):
Browser Security and Antiadware Software component license exprited! Surfing PORN, ADULT and some other kind of sites you like without this software is dangerows and threatens with infection of your computer by harmful viruses, adware, spyware, etc… You strongly need to update your software to avoid infection and losting information from your computer. Please complete procedure of software update
If you come across this, or any other similar scam never ever pay them any money, or call the supplied phone number or SMS (otherwise you’ll be out of pocket a small amount of money).
Penny Stock Scams Now Using Videos
The penny stock scam involves convincing people that a particular share is worth investing in, and in effect inflating the price on the stock market.
It’s a scam and you shouldn’t be taking financial advice from random strangers on the internet.
In the past I’ve written about mp3s being used to send this scam. Now scammers have created videos to spread their (false) messages. The videos (usually 30 or 60 seconds long) appear highly professional in quality, and come attached to an email.
Notes:
- This scam is also called a pump-and-dump scam
- These emails have been found to begin with the words "Jump on the wave" or "Take a look at this 60 second video to start"
- Other forms of this scam use synthesised speech, PDF documents and Excel spreadsheets to promote their stock.
- In September last year some individuals pleaded guilty to this type of scam, they had made over US$20 million from it.
Work From Home Scams
There are a lot of work-from-home job offers being sent by email. In general these offers make someone else money and there’s rarely any money at all to me made from home. It’s an old scam that existed before the internet.
What’s new is that emails are being sent that appear to come from legitimate employment agencies. What’s happening is that spammers are collecting names and email addresses from large job web-sites, then sending spam with forged "From" addresses.
It’s best to ignore unsolicited emails (spam).
RealPlayer Vulnerability
Here’s another vulnerability to report on. If your computer has the following then you’re at risk:
- Windows 2000 or Windows XP
- Internet Explorer 6 or 7
- RealPlayer versions:
- 6.0.10
- 6.0.11
- 6.0.12
- 6.0.14
- 6.0.14.536
- 6.0.14.543
- 6.0.14.544
- 6.0.14.550
- 6.0.14.552
The vulnerability makes it possible for you to infect your computer just by opening a malicious web page (you wouldn’t know it’s happened till it’s too late). So if your version of RealPlayer is out of date and you fall into the category above then update RealPlayer to the latest version.
Merry Christmas PPS Trojan
There’s another email being sent around that contains an attachment called MerryChristmas.pps. It’s a PowerPoint presentation showing some Christmas type message and at the same time tries to install a trojan onto the computer.
Delete it and move on.
It’s also good to keep your antivirus software updated and if you’re using Windows then make sure you’ve updated it all (Windows, Office, etc), as described in this earlier post.
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