Spyware

Five years after CAN-SPAM did nothing to prevent Internet spam, Congress is ready to consider a similarly useful anti-spyware act. The Counter Spy Act, if passed into law in its current form, would spell out the circumstances under which companies are liable for monitoring end-users—and those in which they are not. Read More...

LookforPorn is a malicious program known to come from free movie or porn websites. In order to view videos, questionable websites prompt users to download and install LookforPorn. LookforPorn comes bundled with a Trojan infection called Zlob. LookforPorn is a variation of PronVideo which is another program that may be downloaded without your knowledge through a Trojan infection. LookforPorn may lead to the installation of other rogue anti-spyware applications like like Windows Antivirus 2008 and Ultimate Antivirus 2008, where your may be bombarded with annoying popups and fake alert messages. LookforPorn may be difficult to manually remove from your system.

London, England - June 10, 2008 - Reports from South Africa suggest that a cybercrime syndicate there has defrauded the government of more than 199 million Rand (UKP £12.8 million) in a series of spyware infection-driven frauds.

AntiSpyCheck 2.4 (also known as AntiSpyCheck) is fraudulent anti-spyware application. Like most of the rogue anti-spyware applications, AntiSpyCheck 2.4 may be downloaded and installed onto your computer by a Trojan. AntiSpyCheck 2.4 is designed to lure unsuspecting users out of their money by scaring them into purchasing the full version of the program. In order to trick you, AntiSpyCheck 2.4 performs a bogus scan and displays fraudulent parasite threat notifications. AntiSpyCheck 2.4 is not a legitimate anti-spyware removal tool and cannot be trusted. Immediate removal of AntiSpyCheck 2.4 is strongly recommended.

(ARA) - We take the good with the bad: The same technologies that gave us the Internet and unprecedented opportunities have also brought us adware, spyware, viruses, phishing and a growing host of online threats. Malware - malicious software - is more than a nuisance.

HomeSecurePage.com is a rogue website and browser hijacker from the Trojan.Zlob family. HomeSecurePage.com/xp and HomeSecurePage.com/vista originates from Russia. HomeSecurePage.com may seem like a regular websites, but once you've roamed this website you'll see that there's only links to rogue anti-spyware programs like Windows Antivirus 2008 and Ultimate Antivirus 2008. You may also suddenly see HomeSecurePage.com as your default homepage on your browser. HomeSecurePage.com is similar to SoftHomePage.com, Manageddns404.com, SafetyAlertings.com, Secureinvites.com, among other browser hijackers. HomeSecurePage.com will also display misleading error messages alleging to detect virus threats. If you click on the fake error message, it will that take you to a program that promises to alleviate the problem but instead it only leads you to the purchase page of a rogue anti-spyware program. A false system alert message that starts "W32.Myzor.FK@yf has infected your PC..." will appear on your Taskbar. HomeSecurePage.com fake error message states: "Warning! W32.Myzor.FK@yf is a virus that infects files with .exe extensions. It attempts to steal passwords and private information from the infected computer. Type: Virus Infection Length: 138,293 bytes Systems Affected: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT (all versions), 2003, Windows XP (all service packs) Systems Not Affected: DOS, EPOC, Linux, Macintosh, Novell Netware, OS/2, UNIX Technical details: Creates files in %Windir%\ directory. By default, this is C:\Windows. Adds values to registry keys: HKEY_LOCAL_MNACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run Scans the hard drive for .exe files and infects any executable files. Searches for passwords/information, which it may send to a remote attacker. Recomendations [SIC]: Click "OK" to download officially approved security software. Always keep your patch levels up-to-date." HomeSecurePage.com may prove dangerous to your security and privacy and, therefore, should be avoided at all costs. If HomeSecurePage.com has already infected your machine, we strongly recommend you to scan your system for Zlob and other possible infections.

Vrmdtneg Toolbar is a Trojan toolbar from the Zlob family. Vrmdtneg Toolbar uses corrupt video codecs to infect computers. Corrupt video codecs, such as Video Access Codec, are usually found on malicious websites. A clear sign of a computer that's infected with the Trojan toolbar Vrmdtneg Toolbar is that it will display a fake security wizard called System Integrity Scan Wizard that links to the rogue anti-spyware program Antivirus2008 Pro. Vrmdtneg Toolbar also displays a yellow bar which attaches itself to the top of the search results webpage and says the following message: "Warning: possible spyware or adware infection! Click here to scan your computer for spyware...". Vrmdtneg Toolbar has four icons named "Remove Popups", "Scan Spyware", "Security Test" and "Spam Protection", all of which lead to malicious websites that promote rogue anti-spyware software. None of the products and services Vrmdtneg Toolbar distributes are legitimate or trustworthy. Similar to Vrmdtneg Toolbar are Rtsplgob Toolbar, Nmwegbsf Toolbar, Atfxqogp Toolbar, Gktxaspm Toolbar, Mkrndofl Toolbar, and Sgoblxtm Toolbar. The immediate removal of Vrmdtneg Toolbar is recommended.

clipped from www.networkworld.com Can your computers pass a basic NAC compliance test? Worldwide, the most common shortcoming was missing security patches, with 63% missing them. Firewalls came in second, with 47% of them installed but turned off. Just 5% of antivirus software was installed but turned off, and another 10% had the antivirus turned on but not up to date.

Microsoft has confirmed plans to bundle anti-spyware protection into Windows Vista , a move that is sure to raise eyebrows among competitors and possibly antitrust regulators.