A few readers have written in to say they recently received Skype phone calls urging them to download and install a system update for Microsoft Windows. Users who visit the recommended site are bombarded with the same old scareware prompts that try to frighten them into purchasing worthless security software.
To combat an increase in ATM fraud from skimmer devices, cash machine makers have been outfitting ATMs with a variety of anti-skimming technologies. In many cases, these anti-skimming tools take the shape of green or blue semi-transparent plastic casings that protrude from the card acceptance slot to prevent would-be thieves from easily attaching skimming devices. But a surprising number of incidents, skimmer scammers have simply designed their skimmers to look exactly like the anti-skimming devices.
Crooks who create botnets with crimeware kits SpyEye and ZeuS are creatively venting their frustration over a pair of Web services that help ISPs and companies block infected machines from communicating with control networks run by the botmasters.
Microsoft has issued security updates to fix at least four security holes in its Windows operating system and other software. Not exactly a fat Patch Tuesday from Microsoft, but depending on how agile you are in updating third-party applications like Flash, iTunes and Shockwave, you may have some additional patching to do.
A system put in place to allow anti-spam activists to report entities that bulk-register domain names using false or misleading contact information is about to gain a much-needed new privacy feature: The option for activists not to expose their identities to the very spammers they’re trying to report.
If your Microsoft Windows PC was attacked by fake anti-virus or “scareware” in the past few years, chances are good that the attack was made possible by ChronoPay, Russia’s largest processor of online payments.
Tens of thousands of documents stolen and leaked last year from ChronoPay offer a fascinating view into a company that has artfully cultivated and profited handsomely from the market for scareware, which hijacks victim PCs with fake security alerts in a bid to frighten users into paying for worthless security software.
The anti-virus industry has long drawn its biggest share of profits from loyal customers, extracting full-price for the software from existing customers seeking license renewals while steeply discounting their products for new users. But a new comparison shopping site makes it simple for renewing customers to take advantage of these introductory deals, or to switch to a competing product for a hefty price reduction.
