President-elect Barack Obama is already targeted as the subject of a malicious malware campaign designed to steal information from infected computers. Following Obama’s presidential victory Tuesday, malware authors were quick to create a Trojan exploiting the high volumes of Web traffic surrounding Obama, security experts said. And so far, researchers say that spam capitalizing on Obama’s victory has experienced a sharp upward spike, comprising about 60 percent of all spam messages in what has become a globalized attack. “The hackers are taking advantage of Obama-mania,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for SophosLabs. “So many people have been excited or interested in (the election), that they might be susceptible to it.” Specifically, malware authors are exploiting users’ post-election curiosity with an e-mail purporting to offer news of Obama’s victory. The legitimate-looking message then offers the viewer a link, allegedly of a video featuring Obama’s acceptance speech. However, in order to view the clip, users are advised to click on a link that will allegedly download the latest version of Adobe Flash player. Once users open the link, a Web site actually links to a file called adobe_flash_exe, a malicious Trojan downloader designed to distribute information-stealing software on unsuspecting victims’ computers. Upon execution, the compromised machine receives a RootKit that sends the user’s personal data to numerous command and control centers. Researchers at Web security company Websense said in a blog that they have seen at least 25,000 e-mails through the systems using that particular technique, which, in addition to distributing data-stealing malware, also incorporates the victim’s computer into a botnet, a network of computers programmed to perpetuate spam campaigns.
Thursday 6 November 2008
Hackers infiltrate Obama’s victory with malware
President-elect Barack Obama is already targeted as the subject of a malicious malware campaign designed to steal information from infected computers. Following Obama’s presidential victory Tuesday, malware authors were quick to create a Trojan exploiting the high volumes of Web traffic surrounding Obama, security experts said. And so far, researchers say that spam capitalizing on Obama’s victory has experienced a sharp upward spike, comprising about 60 percent of all spam messages in what has become a globalized attack. “The hackers are taking advantage of Obama-mania,” said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for SophosLabs. “So many people have been excited or interested in (the election), that they might be susceptible to it.” Specifically, malware authors are exploiting users’ post-election curiosity with an e-mail purporting to offer news of Obama’s victory. The legitimate-looking message then offers the viewer a link, allegedly of a video featuring Obama’s acceptance speech. However, in order to view the clip, users are advised to click on a link that will allegedly download the latest version of Adobe Flash player. Once users open the link, a Web site actually links to a file called adobe_flash_exe, a malicious Trojan downloader designed to distribute information-stealing software on unsuspecting victims’ computers. Upon execution, the compromised machine receives a RootKit that sends the user’s personal data to numerous command and control centers. Researchers at Web security company Websense said in a blog that they have seen at least 25,000 e-mails through the systems using that particular technique, which, in addition to distributing data-stealing malware, also incorporates the victim’s computer into a botnet, a network of computers programmed to perpetuate spam campaigns.
Tuesday 4 November 2008
What I'm listening to (album reviews)
The Cure - 4:13 dream“not as dark as their previous works but that’s not a bad thing, this really is the band being themselves & though my first impressions were not great I have to admit its really grown on me. I just love the track called (the real snow white).“
Dido - safe trip home“yay dido’s back! And its been a long wait too, I first heard about the production of the album back in 2005 & its been held back at least 5 times since then. What we are left with is a well mixed & sharp sounding piece of work that rivals (life for rent & no angel) no doubt this will be a big seller for Christmas.”
Cradle of Filth - godspeed on the devils thunder“this could be one of their best albums yet, the new line-up meld really well together & the new drummer seems to know his stuff, the subject of the album this time around is the French aristocrat serial killer gilles de rais & yes like many of cradles other works this is a concept album.”
Sarah Brightman - a winter symphony“perhaps the most amazing female vocalist to ever be released on a major label is back in time for Christmas, as the title suggests this is a Christmas album & full of classics like Silent Night & Ave Maria. Though some people might think I’m going to be automatically bias about this album I really have to say it’s a great piece of work & will definitely be getting a lot of playtime from me this season.”
Girls Aloud - out of control
“with a lot of girl bands you either love them or hate them & luckily for this band there is a lot of love to go around, I was surprised that I liked every song on this album because usually I only like a handful of songs. They sound more grown up this time & the songs have more texture & flare to them, I just hope the rumours of this being their final album is not true it would be a terrible shame as they still have a lot of energy in them.”
“with a lot of girl bands you either love them or hate them & luckily for this band there is a lot of love to go around, I was surprised that I liked every song on this album because usually I only like a handful of songs. They sound more grown up this time & the songs have more texture & flare to them, I just hope the rumours of this being their final album is not true it would be a terrible shame as they still have a lot of energy in them.”
Lordi - deadache“ha ha yeah I like Lordi & yes I liked them long before they won the Eurovision. I’m not going to say much about this album because really I think it will only appeal to the die hard fans out there..yes they have fans! (monsters keep me company) is a great track as is (bite it like a bulldog) in all honesty this sounds like their best album yet & if you haven’t heard them & are curious this would be a good album to start with.”
The Nightmare - revisited“it seems to be a new tradition now re-releasing this album every year for Christmas & I have to say when I heard about it I immediately had my mind made up on it being just a rip-off.. Its actually not, ok true most of the same songs are on their but it’s the artists that really make this different, bands like fly leaf/rise against/korn & even amy lee make this a great little find for fans of the original movie & of any of the bands featured."
“another SAW movie & another soundtrack to accompany it. As the movies have been a brutal assault to the senses so have the soundtracks & this time around the formula remains the same..Charlie clouser provides the atmosphere with his moody tracks while bands like filter/skinny puppy & testament provide the lyrical assault that SAW fans expect. Its good…but its not that good, the album before it was less dark wave & more metal which really appealed to me - it even introduced people to more unknown artists like Emilie autumn, looks like the SAW franchise didn’t hold up so good this time.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)