This phenomenon has been seen in the way that mail scams focus on the older generation as well as those who have responded to scamming campaigns before. The same thing is now being seen on the Internet. Viruses are being found increasingly on websites aimed at the older generation. Those over the age of 50 are generally less tech savvy, and therefore less likely to perceive a virus threat. They are more likely to comply with the demands of the criminal malware agency.

Imitation and criminal demands

Those of us who have been unfortunate enough to contract a common computer virus know how they work. The virus infects your computer, closing down its main functions, and depending on how advanced the virus is could make it unresponsive. The malware shows messages on your computer screen, often imitating a popular software company such as Windows in an attempt to trick the computer user. It will demand a payment to fix computer problems, possibly only allowing interactions needed for this payment to be completed.

Of course, those of us with a moderate quantity of computing experience will recognise the virus immediately, and know that making the payment will not fix the problem. We will try our best to shut down the virus ourselves – sometimes succeeding, other times needing to take the computer to a professional technician. Eventually, the virus will be eliminated and we will have learnt our lesson about installing good software protection and not browsing through dodgy websites.

But for others – particularly those of the older generation – the trouble doesn’t end like that. Many do believe the claims made in the virus messages, and comply with criminal demands. After providing an initial payment they have sent themselves up for years of hassle from scam criminals. In some cases, the effects have been life ruining.

How we can stop this happening

As anti-scam technicians and software developers work hard to prevent computer software being prone to infection, there are things we can do to help the efforts. Firstly we can educate people about the threats of viruses and how they work, utilising online blogs such as these. Enabling individuals to identify a threat can be a big step towards reducing the number of virus victims.

Additionally, those of us who have friends and family members who could be vulnerable should help out. Both elderly relatives and non tech-savvy young people could benefit from the advice of someone with more computer know-how. Set up an anti-virus software programme for them to prevent them falling victim to online criminals.

The online world is a fantastic place, but just like the real world threats are everywhere. Whilst efforts are made to eliminate them, they probably won’t ever truly be gone. Avoid hassle or exploitation by an online thief by taking the issue of Internet security seriously.

Guest Article by Connor Sephton

The research questioned over 15 thousand internet users, between the ages of 18 and 65, from 11 countries. The conclusion of the study revealed Internet users had mythical ideas about cyber security which left them vulnerable to threats.

And much of these antivirus security allegations are centred on activities in China. The centre of many alleged fraud scandals, China has its fair share of cases involving malware writers using their talents to bring down competing antivirus software companies.

The latest outrage is focused around a former official at Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, who has been given a ‘suspended death sentence’ after being found guilty of corruption.

The long-running rivalry between Rising and Micropoint (Micropoint being founded by former employees of Rising) is at the centre of this conviction. Yu Bing, the security official, was partly convicted for mass embezzlement and corruption because of his alleged crimes against Micropoint. The government accused Yu Bing of denying Micropoint access to official testing, and of actions that led many Micropoint employees to be accused and convicted of creating malware to advance their position. Rising have been quick to distance themselves from the case.

The ‘Epoch Times’, a Chinese anti-establishment news source, threw the accusations at Rising, but do believe that Rising is one of many companies in the security industry that creates malware for their own benefits. They call it ‘an open secret’, and claim that the industry is rife with this sort of corruption and fraud.

Other antivirus and security companies across the world are, however, not so quick to believe the allegations. John Hawes, a Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin: "It seems pretty unlikely that anyone working in a serious security firm would consider creating their own malware. This is an industry which relies heavily on trust and respect between competitors; there’s a very strong moral code which totally forbids anything like that. Many outside the industry seem to find it amusing to suggest such theories, but most researchers will have heard the same thing many, many times. Those in the know are well aware that creating new malware is not only unethical but pointless…’

This latest row over allegations of corruption in the industry are only one in a long, convoluted series of events and stories coming out of China. The author of the Fujacks virus (also known as the ‘panda-burning-Joss-sticks’ virus, due to the cartoon icon that appeared in the place of the file it had infected), Li Jun, is believed to have been hired by the Spanish firm Panda. The reports suggested that the convicted malware writer was hired by Panda to advance their own name at the detriment of their competitors, but it was quickly denied by Panda, who claim it was a misunderstanding arising from some Chinese software marketing.

With the allegations that malware writers are helping companies to beat their rivals, one can only hope that the effectiveness of these antivirus security firms are not impeded, and that they can continue to keep users’ computers safe from internet threats.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

Employing many of the best antivirus strategies, GFI produces a monthly report of the most active and virulent malware.

And the company has warned this month that the activity of botnet operators is increasing. Botnets are network of zombie computers which unbeknown to their owners and operators, act as vast spam mailers, which are the usual way that malicious code is delivered to individual computers.

GFI has found that there is a persistence of Trojan attacks and scareware.

The top ten of these attacks during September showed a pattern of aggressive and persistent attacks via Trojan horse programmes:

1. Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT 23.54%
2. Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.gen 4.27%
3. Trojan.Win32.Generic!SB.0 4.06%
4. Trojan.Win32.Generic.pak!cobra 3.04%
5. INF.Autorun (v) 2.3%
6. Worm.Win32.Downad.Gen (v) 1.44%
7. Trojan.HTML.FakeAlert.e (v) 1.09%
8. PlaySushi 1.08%
9. FraudTool.Win32.FakeAV.gen!droppedData (v) 0.91%
10. Trojan.Win32.Malware.a 0.83%

The biggest culprit was Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT and includes more than 120,000 malicious application traces.

In second place is also a generic trojan which has many versions and centres on password-stealing techniques. Also a password-stealing trojan is number three, Trojan.Win32.Generic!SB.0, which are designed to install keyloggers which monitor and record key strokes, so that hackers can figure out password and username details.

Manager of the malware processing team at GFI Labs, Francis Montesino said:
“These detections are evidence of the activities of botnet operators. They use their networks to pump out the spam that’s intended to infect machines.”

Research Centre Manager at GFI, Tom Kelchner said:
“Trojan.HTML.FakeAlert.e (v), which is in the number seven spot, is a detection for malicious Web pages that display false warnings to scare victims into downloading malware – commonly referred to as rogue security products or scareware. We’re seeing a steady flow of new rogues too – one or two per week. Judging by our ThreatNet reports, VIPRE installations are stopping a lot of the rogue downloaders.”

GFI will continue to watch out for threats under its best antivirus ambitions.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

The Panda antivirus software say the phishing attacks are geared towards collecting personal bank details from people’s computers and the popular Apple iTunes service is in the firing line.

The phishing attack centres on emails which are sent to people and masquerade as genuine iTunes receipts for goods not purchased. The email contains a link that the person clicks and asks them to download a malicious and fake PDF reader. If the user agrees to the download, then they are directed to other websites that download all sorts of malware.

Hackers have identified iTunes as a multi-use platform which every day has millions of people loading credit and debit card details, as well as conducting a huge amount of transactions. The potential number of victims is worrying large parts of the computers security industry.

At the heart of the ‘con’ is a genuine attempt by people concerned that they have received an incorrect receipt for a purchase they never made. The natural reaction is to click the link, identify the nature of the receipt and then try and put matters right. Of course, the hackers are in the meantime directing their victims to websites that have nothing whatsoever to do with Apple, but are there to download nefarious malware.

And once the malware has been downloaded – mostly banking trojans in this case – the viruses get to work copying a person’s bank and personal details, which then gives the hackers complete control of various financial transactions. This might range from making purchases, to draining a bank account completely.

The skill of the phishers is to replicate almost perfectly an iTunes email and then release these to millions of unsuspecting computer users.

Security experts remind people that the best way of avoiding such tricks is never to enter a supposed site by way of an email link, unless the source of the email can be completely guaranteed. As always, a suspicious mind is one of the best ways to defeat such tricks.

Luis Corrons, the Technical Director of PandaLabs, creator of Panda antivirus software range of applications, said:
“Phishing is nothing new. What never ceases to surprise us is that the techniques used to trick victims continue to be so simple, although the design and content is often very well worked. It’s often difficult not to fall in the trap. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial that when you use platforms such as iTunes, and you receive these types of notifications, never go to the website through the email, but rather from the platform itself. You can check your account status in real time from the account itself. And in this case you would therefore realize it is an attempt at phishing.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp