Posts Tagged ‘botnet’
IN THE HEADLINES: Fake Anti-Virus Makers Rake in Millions
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● September 15, 2011
A recent study by researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara found that just three of the many vendors of fake anti-virus software made more than $130 million in less than 18 months. Fake anti-virus software is a very dangerous double-whammy for victims because not only are victims tricked or forced into paying [...]
IN THE HEADLINES: Security Experts Uncover Massive and Potentially Indestructible Botnet
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● July 14, 2011
It’s troubling when one of the most respected groups of security researchers on the planet describes a threat as “indestructible” and “the most sophisticated threat today.” Those were the exact words used by researchers from Russian security firm Kaspersky to describe the growth of a powerful new botnet dubbed TDL-4. A botnet is a network [...]
IN THE HEADLINES: Massive Botnet Attacked by FBI
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● April 20, 2011
In an unprecedented move, the FBI sought and obtained permission from a court to use an attack code on a massive botnet codenamed Coreflood, and instruct that botnet to “uninfect” millions of computers it had hijacked. A botnet is a network of computers that have been hijacked by hackers. These computers, possibly yours, may then [...]
IN THE HEADLINES: How a Multi-Million Dollar Scam Went Undetected
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● March 3, 2011
The recent case of a scammer from New Hampshire highlights a weakness that many crooks exploit because most users miss it. According to court documents, a 37-year-old man recently pleaded guilty to an elaborate scam that netted him and his accomplices almost $8 million, and despite the fact that the scam went on for years, [...]
IN THE HEADLINES: Could You Be Spamming Yourself?
Posted by: Neal OFarrell in: ● September 9, 2010
Security researchers recently discovered that more than 40% of the world’s spam is being churned out by just one culprit. The culprit is called the Rustock botnet, and may consist of millions of compromised computers, all press-ganged together to churn out an estimated 46 billion spam emails every single day. What’s more troubling, most of [...]
Identity Theft: An International Conspiracy
Posted by: Matt Sarrel in: ● September 28, 2009
One of the reasons it has been difficult for the law enforcement community in the USA to get the problem of identity theft under control is that the problem extends well beyond our borders. The common misperception that Internet malfeasance is perpetrated by 15 year old boys with nothing better to do after school could [...]
Follow us on Twitter
Join us on Facebook