May 02
Dangereous Websites are Growing!
This is a must read article - be aware and use your spyware and antivirus all the time…
Hackers set traps on broad websites
By Jon Swartz and Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — Ordinary websites are fast-becoming a top security threat for PC users.
Tainted Web pages first appeared in late 2005. Now, they're turning up as Google advertising links, on Wikipedia and elsewhere, "from top-tier names to mom and pop bakery shops," says Dan Hubbard, vice president of security research at Websense.
Cybercrooks are corrupting Web pages by the tens of thousands. By tapping holes in the Internet Explorer browser, they implant tiny programs that connect the PC of anyone who simply clicks on the tainted page to a "mother ship" server, often in Russia or China.
That central server collects data typed into online forms — banking log-ins and shopping cart transactions, for instance. It also hijacks the captured PC into a network of compromised PCs, known as "bots," to spread spam.
HOW TO AVOID VIRUSES AND BOTS:
- Use Anti-virus software and keep it up to date.
- Maintain security patches for Internet Explorer (if you use IE).
- Use a router with firewall protection or firewall software.
- Use software that scans for Spyware and alerts you to intrusions or changes
(Example - CounterSpy by Sunbelt Software)
