Scareware Rogues

Rogue Security Programs, scare tactics

August 25, 2008

Microsoft® Malware Protection Center produced this article yesterday. Manufacturing Fear We’ve seen some particularly nasty malware recently that has prompted me to think about how people react to scare tactics and fear appeals. The kind of malicious software I’m thinking of in particular here is generally referred to as ‘rogue security software’, and it displays [...]

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What is WOT

August 24, 2008

Well it isn’t the Brit slang for what, WOT stands for ‘Web Of Trust’. WOT is a free Internet security addon for your browser. It will keep you safe from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT provides you an extra layer of security by warning you before you interact [...]

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Anatomy of a malware scam – The evil genius of XP Antivirus 2008

August 23, 2008

Jesper M. Johansson’s eight page article at The Register is a good read. Previous Certifiedbug: GlobalSign revokes rogue program’s digital certificate Adobe Flash ads launch Clipboard hijack attack by Rogues

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GlobalSign revokes rogue program’s digital certificate

August 16, 2008

Antivirus XP 2008, a known rogue anti spyware program, was digitally signed by Globalsign. Alerted by The Register on Friday, GlobalSign revoked the certificate, pending an investigation. They may have moved swiftly to remove the cert after being alerted, however the question still begs as to why GlobalSign gave Antivirus XP 2008 a certificate in [...]

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Firefox on the Security front

June 24, 2008

Based on a Google blacklist, Firefox 3 blocks sites known to spread malware. Firefox in action.

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Fraudulent Microsoft Update Web Site

February 6, 2008

US-CERT reports a fake Microsoft Update web site which contains an “Urgent Install” button that, when clicked, attempts to download and install malware. The web site is using fast flux DNS which allows bot nets to use a multitude of servers to hide a key host; meaning that in order to disable it, countless hosts [...]

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Mac Trojan

October 31, 2007

Mac users who practice unsafe hex will find more than they bargained for. From Intego: Exploit: OSX.RSPlug.A Trojan Horse Discovered: October 30, 2007 Risk: Critical OSX.RSPlug.A Trojan Horse Changes Local DNS Settings to Redirect to Malicious DNS Servers Description: A malicious Trojan Horse has been found on several pornography web sites, claiming to install a [...]

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FTC Permanently Halts Media Motor Spyware Scam

October 1, 2007

Press release October 1, 2007. Trojan Program Downloaded Spyware, Adware, Porno Pop-Ups to Consumers’ Computers Operators who infected more than 15 million computers with destructive, intrusive spyware will give up $330,000 in ill-gotten gains from their venture to settle FTC charges that their scam violated federal law. The settlement will bar the defendants from downloading [...]

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TRUSTe finds Rogue Distributor Exploiting Security Flaws

July 22, 2007

TRUSTe Blog: RelevantKnowledge Removed from TDP White List for Three Months After notification by several sources, TRUSTe investigated a distributor installing comScore’s RelevantKnowledge on consumer machines through a security exploit. The RelevantKnowledge application was observed being installed via a security exploit amongst several other applications. The following describes the series of events observed: The user [...]

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Zango Tango

June 5, 2007

Technology & Marketing Law Blog: Zango’s Busy Litigation Docket PC Tools & Kaspersky Responses to Zango Lawsuit Zango Also Loses Kaspersky TRO Motion Vitalsecurity: Rogue Security Applications Being Pushed On Myspace

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