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Study: Malware Writers Rickrolling on Digg

Posted 02/12/09 at 07:15:16 PM  by Pulkit Chandna

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Online beguilers are leaving no stone unturned in propagating malware. They have shown remarkable pliancy in adapting themselves to the ever-evolving cyber landscape. They have realized that the best places to ply their diabolical trade are the ones with massive traffic. As nothing rivals social websites in popularity, such cyber haunts have endeared themselves to malware authors.

According to PandaLabs Security’s Sean-Paul Correll, malware writers are increasingly using popular social news aggregator Digg to their advantage. They either submit erroneous stories that sound sensational or post ostensibly relevant links when commenting on a popular story. This trick is sufficient to bamboozle gullible internet users, who unsuspectingly end up on websites fraught with malware.

The malware files are mostly disguised as video codecs and anti-spyware downloads. Correll has been able to identify 52 Digg accounts being operated by malware peddlers.

Image Credit: Gawker

COMMENTS:7
TAGS: Internet, video, malware, digg, antispyware, social web, scammer, rickrolling
COMMENTS
avatarI am glad I don't ever visit

Submitted by eday_2010 on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 9:07am

I am glad I don't ever visit Digg, or any of those other waste-of-time sites. And this is one more reason why I won't visit Digg in the future.

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avatarThe safest product that

Submitted by I Jedi on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 6:34pm

The safest product that anyone can use in prevention of having online identity, etc, stolen is to merely do safe web searching and use tools to help you steer clear of bad sites. E.g. WOT and HaunteSecure. If you're smart about what you download and view online, you're greatly limiting the chances of something bad happening to yourself. 

 And to the other two posters. Yes, it is ashame that these sorts of people don't use their knowledge for something better than what they already ues it for. I'm no religous man, but I do have morals and I for one have no idea how people can so willingly go out and steal what is not theirs. 

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avatarI believe the term

Submitted by HellTempest on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 6:39pm

I believe the term you should've used instead of smart is "a higher than 0 IQ"

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avatarcould you imagine how much

Submitted by AndyYankee17 on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 5:22pm

could you imagine how much better our world could be if malware writers used their programming skills for good?

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avatarCould you imagine how much

Submitted by HellTempest on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 5:30pm

Could you imagine how the hordes of morons on the internet would swell if people stopped doing shady things with technology? I mean, think about it, you have to be pretty stupid to believe some of these claims, and to actually download any of the stuff on there is on a level so transcending idiocy that they deserve not to be called sentient beings.

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avatari agree with your points but

Submitted by xs0u1x on Sat, 02/14/2009 - 11:44pm

i agree with your points but you really need to get over yourself.

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avatargood point, malware is the

Submitted by AndyYankee17 on Thu, 02/12/2009 - 6:26pm

good point, malware is the natural selection of the interweb

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