Facebook users warned about 'sexiest video' attack

Lured by the promise of the "sexiest video ever," hundreds of thousands of Facebook users found their PCs infected by adware over the weekend.

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Watch demos of Intel's webpad-based Health Guide for seniors, at the New York City launch of Intel's $250-million alliance with GE.Unsuspecting users clicked on a thumbnail showing a miniskirt-clad woman on an exercise bike, apparently posted on their Facebook page by a friend. Instead of seeing the video, users were told they did not have the correct software installed and were directed to download the necessary application. Then, instead of accessing video software, users downloaded popup-spewing adware, according to security software developer Sophos.

The malware uses Hotbar, a toolbar that connects to Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer, and connects users with paid ads and search engines, according to Switched. The toolbar also may gather personal data and download other updates from its server.

"You may want to watch a sexy video, but you're more likely to end up being plagued by pop-up advertising," said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, told The Economic Times. "It's no surprise that your friends might click to watch the movie when it looks to all intents and purposes that you are the person who has sent it to them."

In fact, more than 300,000 users reported the problem to AVG Technologies, said Roger Thompson, chief research officer at the developer of free anti-virus software.

"This latest issue really underscores how powerful, while at the same time vulnerable, social networking applications are. This attack was actually stunning in terms of scale,” he said. “Facebook is very responsive to threats when we identify them, and removing these applications as soon as they find them, but they’re still able to generate huge traffic, just because of the viral nature of social networks. It is staggering how many threats were propagated before they were stopped.”

Within 15 hours of the attack, Facebook removed the application, Thompson said. In a "Tip of the Week" on Monday, Facebook cautioned account-holders not to click on suspicious-looking links, even if they'd apparently been sent or posted by a friend.  informationweek

"Alarming" rise in cyberattacks at social networks: Sophos

 There has been an "alarming" rise in spammers and hackers hunting for victims at online social networks, according to a report released Monday by computer security firm Sophos.

A "Social Security" investigation revealed an "explosion" of spam messages and nefarious software targeting users of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

"Computer users are spending more time on social networks, sharing sensitive and valuable personal information, and hackers have sniffed out where the money is to be made," said Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley.

"Social networks and their millions of users have to do more to protect themselves from organized cybercrime, or risk falling prey to identity theft schemes, scams, and malware attacks."

Facebook last month announced an alliance with Internet security specialty firm McAfee to get members of the world's leading online social network to better defend their computers.

"Facebook is by far the largest social network -- and you'll find more bad apples in the biggest orchard," explained Cluley.

"The truth is that the security team at Facebook works hard to counter threats on their site -- it's just that policing 350 million users can't be an easy job for anyone." .smh.com.

Facebook, Twitter to face more sophisticated attacks: McAfee

Social networks will face increasingly sophisticated hacker attacks in 2010 but law enforcement is expected to make strides in fighting cybercrime, according to Web security firm McAfee Labs.

"The explosion of applications on Facebook and other services will be an ideal vector for cybercriminals, who will take advantage of friends trusting friends to click links they might otherwise treat cautiously," McAfee said.

In its 2010 Threat Predictions report, McAfee also said it expected to see increased threats to banking security and a rise in the use of "botnets," armies of infected computers used to spread malicious software or malware.

"However, in 2010 we expect to see an increase in the effectiveness of law enforcement to fight back against cybercrime," the Santa Clara, California, computer security firm said in the report released on Tuesday.

McAfee said Adobe products were likely to come under increasing threat next year and the release by Google of its Chrome computer operating system would "create another opportunity for malware writers to prey on users."

"Cybercriminals have long picked on Microsoft products due to their popularity," the report said. "In 2010, we anticipate Adobe software, especially Acrobat Reader and Flash, will take the top spot."

"Based on the current trends, we expect that in 2010 Adobe product exploitation is likely to surpass that of Microsoft Office applications in the number of desktop PCs being attacked," it said. AFP