Spammers Ride on Jackson Death
02 Jul, 2009, 3:05 pm IST |
tech2 News Staff
| 
|
Micheal Jackson's death shocked the entire world - it was the end of an era. But even before he has been laid to rest hackers and spammers are using his name and death to spread malware. Sophos had encountered a mass-mailing worm that spams out messages with the following characteristics: Subject: Remembering Michael Jackson Attached file: Michael songs and pictures.zip The email, which claims to come from sarah@michaeljackson.com, says that the attached ZIP file contains secret songs and photos of Michael Jackson. Opening the attachment exposes you to infection - and if your computer is hit you will be spreading the worm onto other internet users. Besides spreading via email, the malware is also capable of spreading as an Autorun component on USB memory sticks (an increasingly common trend for malware as use of these devices has become more and more popular). Sophos detects the malware proactively as Mal/ZipMal-B and Mal/VB-AD, and recommends that users of other anti-virus products ensure that their defences are properly updated. Though there has been much cybercriminal activity following his death, Michael Jackson was not immune from having his name exploited by hackers when he was alive either. In 2004 a Trojan horse was spammed out claiming to contain photographic evidence of Jackson abusing a young boy. The following year a malware campaign was spammed out claiming to contain breaking news that the music superstar had committed suicide. Earlier this year, Sophos exposed that scammers had managed to advertise their offers on Jackson's official website promoting his (now cancelled) concerts at the O2 in London. |
Mixx
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
delicious
reddit
MySpace
StumbleUpon
LinkedIn
Protests erupt across Europe against web piracy treaty
Tens of thousands of protesters took part in rallies across Europe on Saturday against an international anti-piracy agreement they fear will curb their freedom
Google is getting new test labs and 'Experience Center' at Googleplex
U.S government agency replaces BlackBerry with iPhone
SwaggSec hacks Foxconn, uses unpatched IE
Intex launches new 3D dual SIM touch phone, the Avatar
Yahoo! India adds Bengali to its local language base
Sony flashes MDR-EX42 Swarovski Zirconia in-ear headphones
Leaked Images, Availability, Pricing,
Specs, Pre-order
5 free operating systems that aren't Linux
The war of operating systems started decades ago, and the first mainstream
It's a great time to be a family
Microsoft has unveiled its first ever global, multi-product advertising...
By Advertorial
In a sea of operating systems with Windows 7, the upcoming Windows 8 and...
Ganesh Kumar V
Tue Feb 14, 16:33:38
Logitech ZAAG iPad2 Keyboard Case
Prashant Jain
Tue Feb 14, 15:37:58
IIHT and Microsoft offer "IIHT Certified Cloud Expert"
Evans Chibale
Tue Feb 14, 14:04:55
More from Windows
More from this Author
_011517074205_160x90.jpg "Epson Stylus Photo R3000")
Sony toys with the idea of Vita OS-based...
First image of an ICS running Motorola...
iPad 3 to be announced on March 7, cites...
Samsung officially unveils Galaxy Tab 2...
The Darkness II - Fear of the Dark
Resistance: Burning Skies dated
About Us | Site Profile | Tech2 Team | IBNLive News | IBNLive Hindi News | Cricket News | Indian Stock Market | Policy | T & C
Copyright © 2011, Tech2.com India - A Network 18 India Venture
