Archive for the Category ◊ computer ◊

The 5 coveted delivery channels of Malware you must be well acquainted of
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 | Author:

Off late, malware economy is proving to be a lucrative deal for cyber outlaws and there is no nook which has been left unscathed from this usher of despondency. Anytime, anywhere malware can reach at you and that too at times when you are least cagey. But then, the prudent way is to turn every stone to trace out the pugmarks of devilry before they could land up through the doorway of your very own duck diamond. Getting cyber looted and ending with spoofed credentials is just not affordable in the times when most of your financial tomes are lying on the cyber racks.

‘Push-Pull’ affairs

Clearly pigeonholed into two distinct branches, web threats can be Pushbased or Pullbased. Putting forth techniques such as phishing, spam or DNS poisoning (pharming), the main schema of Pushbased threats is to entice a user to malicious (often spoofed) web sites, which then serve the pivotal function of gathering information or infusing malware. Often monikered as “drive-by” threats, “Pull-based threats” have been known to ensnare any naïve visitor despite of safety measures. The core line of action involves infecting legitimate web sites, which then unwittingly transmits malware to visitors or alter search results to take users to malicious sites.

The Deadly Five

Count on the variety of ways malware can arrive at you to ransack your cyber integrity:

• Banner ads

It’s time to give a bid adieu to genuine advertising as “malvertising” is sooner going to outpace everything in coming future. Especially, if you’re a tech novice, probabilities run too high that you might stumble upon an authentic-prototype malicious banner ad by chance and once you click on it, you end up finding yourself in a bigger conundrum. This ad page may direct you towards a website where you are being told to download a .pdf file, heavily infested with malicious coding or you are being asked to unveil your financial details in order to wind up the downloading task properly.

• Downloadable documents

Downloadable docs in form of MS Word or Excel formats can prove a fitting medium to dispense malicious code far and wide. In this line of action, users are lured to open a Word or Excel file which already contains a preinstalled Trojan horse.

• Keyloggers

Innocent users are coaxed and cajoled in myriad of ways to download keyloggers, which then keep a strictly keen eyes on every of your digital movements. The screen shots of your credit card and other vital information are then taken before being packed and send across to muggers.

• Man-in-the-middle

In this modus operandi, users are made to believe that they are reaching out to an authentic website but on the other side of the picture, cybercriminals are collecting the crucial login ids and passwords or in some cases may commandeer the whole login session, where malicious financial transactions are conducted stealthily.

 

Category: computer, Keylogger, Malware, Online Security, Phishing  | Leave a Comment
What to do in case you fall a victim to identity theft?
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012 | Author:

It goes without saying that jitteratis are no sooner getting any respite from growing cyber melancholies. Whether its virus attack, hacking, phishing or more recent-identity theft, cyber freebooters have decided not to give a sigh of relief to internet denizens in coming future. Identity thefts have come to lie as a recent hobby horse of bandits and statistics also hold the truthiness of this very fact. Around 4% to 6% percent of U.S. population have reported to be an unwary victim of one or other kind of identity theft. So what to do if you also come to lie as a hapless muggee of identity theft? Read on to know more on how to escape the lurid identity theft experience if you happen to stumble upon by chance.

Know first the tell-tale signs of disaster

A bad credit report stating missing payments or receiving unfamiliar IRS filings at your name, these are sure shot signs that freebooters have ran over your hard earned deposits. Then, while on shopping, if your credit cards get rejected because of a recent deciphered fraud or you happen to receive unpaid traffic tickets at your name, or there is a windfall of court action notices, the signs are very clear that it’s time to run for an immediate action as you have come to lie as an apple of hacker’s eye.

Get into action mode for your stolen identity

  • Set a “fraud alert” on your account

When you place a fraud alert with credit bureaus, it will discourage the marauders from further creating sham accounts under your name. Soon after you can get a free copy of your credit report, which you can review in thorough to spot from where the first signs of forgery have initiated.

  • Notify creditors to keep them aware

The next very step to ensure that no stone remains unturned is to reach out to your credit card provider, telephone and internet service vendors to keep them well noted of the fact that you have been beleaguered.

  • Do away with tampered accounts

Have a closer eye on accounts, which you think might have been messed about and it’s always advisable to close these accounts before they get into troublemaker mode.

  • Reach out to local law enforcement agencies

It’s always best to place your complaint with the police of your area, which will assist you to make your creditors believe of the fraud.

  • Keep a tight watch on your financial records

A monthly review of your bank and credit card statement can help you to trace out any loopholes and manage the situation accordingly.

Along with all these you can also file a claim with your insurance provider and Federal Trade Commission as a stitch on time can always save nine.

 

Ounce of prevention is better than pounds of cure

And as always, it’s prudent to look for preventive measures rather than going for cure. Therefore, a wise man approach is to be at an arm’s length from hackers menace and this you can ensure by sealing the key vulnerabilities in your cyber security.  This can be done easily by not going for unsolicited emails and by keeping your password least guessable. Also, you should ensure to log off properly while you’re over with your net banking operations. Not clicking on pop-ups can be really beneficial. Also, to undo the danger set in by malware most commonly used by hackers these days, it’s advisable to look out for genuine antivirus and antispyware programs. Going for effective tech support can prove its fittingness as a redeemer to keep hackers and their missionaries i.e. viruses, malware and botnets at bay always.

 

 

 

Category: Antivirus, computer, identity theft, Malware, Online Security, Tech Support  | Tags: antivirus, Cyber Security, Identity Theft, Malware, password, tech support  | Leave a Comment
Cyber Identity Crises: The day when you stop being ‘you’
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 | Author:

It seems that there is no end of woes for online freaks as, of late, cyber world is giving words to worst of human nightmare- the day when you stop being you. Identity theft has come to lie in the core of every second cyber felony. And why not, if payoffs are large and effort is minimal, online freebooters are not able to hold themselves back from concocting new-fangled approaches to steal you from yourself. It’s surely more than nerve racking, if someday you wake up finding that your social security number has been vitiated or there is a foul play with your credit card detailing. Clearly, it means no social security, no mortgage for new home, no student loan, no more shopping and final verdict is that you end up hanging in a lurch.

The stakes run high

There is lot more on wager than expected when you go for cyber navigation. Your credit card details serves as all-time favourite booty but then it doesn’t end here as freebooters are also tracking your social security number and insurance coverage to cash on the instant benefits. Tech connoisseurs have labelled five different categories of identity thefts which can mess up with your digital personality.

  • Social Security Number Identity Theft

Brigands are lurking to snatch the sense of security from you. Those who have the habit of escaping the tax regime have every reason to go for SSN pilferage so that they can easily file taxes and get refund under your good name.

  • Financial Identity Theft

If you try finding out the number of those victimized due to online financial fraud, you may end up with the fact that every second person has its own story to tell. Financial Identity theft, for very obvious reason, topples all charts to lie as the most prominent of all identity thefts. So large is the hysteria that even some businesses and consumers end up counting the identity theft resulting in financial fraud in their business cost.

  • Criminal Identity Theft

If you find earlier ones awful then this one is truly horrendous. How about landing up in a jail for a crime not committed by you? Criminal Identity theft is the potent way deciphered by charlatans to commit wrong by masking themselves under your identity, making law enforcement agencies believe that it’s actually you who has played the instrumental role in the criminal act.

  • Driver’s License Identity Theft

If you have received unpaid traffic tickets or DUI’s at your name for no apparent reason, it’s a clear cut indicator that you have fallen a prey to Driver’s License Identity Theft, where someone else has used your name to get driving license.

  • Medical Identity Theft

This is a new kid on the bloc that takes you by surprise. But then sleuths take advantage of your name, insurance coverage or Social Security Number to feast on a major chunk of your medical benefits, rendering a permanent dint on your current benefits along with corrupted medical records. Medical Identity thefts are also making to the news in the recent times as they are the most intricate ones to be fixed. The very fact behind is that victims have limited rights and recourses to excise.

 

Category: computer, Online Security  | Tags: Cyber Crime, Cyber Security, Identity Theft, Online Security  | Leave a Comment
Blended Threats: An execrable concoction of Cyber-age freebooters
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 | Author:

Malware landscape in today’s time, cease to know any form of boundaries. This boisterous trend is lately catching up as modern malware can now land up through multiple vectors ranging from unsolicited emails to compromised websites and never to forget the ever-favourite social networking sites. Pacing towards the zenith, blended threats have had incredible success at causing infection due to the systematic approach by professional Internet hackers in what has become a highly lucrative industry. The same has been confirmed by Microsoft that has estimated in 2009 that blended threats has been responsible for distributing malware infection among 30% of home PCs and 4% of corporate computers.

A Salver of Choices

Blended threats have become coveted conduit for malware writers to gratify their iffy intents as now they have multiplicity of choices. These range from envenoming search engine results that use popular search terms leading to malicious websites or to social networking sites that enables hackers to promulgate the malicious URL links to contacts by compromising accounts that are legitimate. But it’s still the email that holds high regards among the virus writers. Now no more malicious email attachments, as inserting a seemingly legitimate URL link directing to a malicious website will do all wonders for hackers without any risk of being caught.

The line of attack

It all starts with hacking of a legitimate website by a hacker using automated tools for placing the malware- a radical shift from the conventional approach where the site is developed by the hacker for launching a systemic attack. Next in the line comes the dissemination task where the unsolicited emails (spams) containing the URL of these compromised websites are sent to the end-users through botnets, often in low levels to escape from getting revealed. This circumvents the traditional Email antivirus gateways which do not identify them as impending threats and they pass on unnoticed to the user. Once the user receives the mail and clicks on the rooted link, a Pandora box of systematic multi-level attacks gets unplugged and the malware gets installed onto the user’s PC by “drive-by download” attack. Bit by bit an appalling drama unfolds as the user’s PC becomes a cog of botnet which is further being deployed to spread spam and blended threats.

Category: computer, Malware, Online Security  | Tags: Blended Threats, botnets, drive-by-download attack, email spams, malicious email attachments, Malware  | 103 Comments