Study: Malware Writers Rickrolling on Digg
Study: Malware Writers Rickrolling on Digg
Posted 02/12/2009 at 5:15pm
| by Pulkit Chandna
7
Comments
Print
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
More like this
eday_2010
February 13, 2009 at 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.
I Jedi
February 12, 2009 at 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.
HellTempest
February 12, 2009 at 6:39pm
I believe the term you should've used instead of smart is "a higher than 0 IQ"
AndyYankee17
February 12, 2009 at 5:22pm
could you imagine how much better our world could be if malware writers used their programming skills for good?
HellTempest
February 12, 2009 at 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.
xs0u1x
February 14, 2009 at 11:44pm
i agree with your points but you really need to get over yourself.
AndyYankee17
February 12, 2009 at 6:26pm
good point, malware is the natural selection of the interweb
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
We introduce Intel's latest class of tablet killers and review 4 of the first Ultra...
Where have all the memorable videogame enemies gone?
This month's issue
Feature
11 Hardware Hacks
Feature
Overclock Your CPU
How-To
Supercharge Your Smartphone
Build It
A Powerful $830 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: Analysts: 9-Inch Kindle Fire This Summer http://t.co/QDYApwCZ3 hours 15 min ago
- maximumpc: Micron: DRAM Prices Likely as Low as They're Going to Get http://t.co/fFUWuFOm6 hours 12 min ago
- maximumpc: Yar, Mateys! All Of Pirate Bay Made Available As A Single 90MB Zip File http://t.co/j5LHlXEZ7 hours 26 min ago
