India among the top 3 spam-sending nations in the world

It can certainly make one proud knowing your country is among the top 3 in the world, but if we’re top 3 in sending spam, we’d rather we weren’t. According to a new report by TrendLabs Researchers, India is responsible for 12.55% of all the spam messages circulated work, ranking behind only the United States of America. Brazil rounds off the list at number three. The top 3 rankings have remained the same for the past couple of months, but, India posted a decline in spam numbers in July, while the United States and Brazil posted an increase. Check out the list of top 10 nations below, and know that China doesn’t feature anywhere on it…

In related news, TrendLabs Researchers also published a list of the top 10 phishing targets in the world, where HSBC tops the list. Unsurpisingly, 9 out of the top 10 are banking institutions, with PayPal the only non-bank in the list. ABN Amro is apparently the newest entrant to the list.

Speaking about the two reports, Mr. Amit Nath, Country Manager India and SAARC Trend Micro, said: "User account information and credit card credentials reap good profits for cybercriminals. As such, cybercriminals continued to leverage on the widespread use of social networking sites, search engines, and redirectors this July. In the report, we detailed certain attacks and notable data points related to compromised sites”

 

Rank	Country	Percentage
1	United States	24.93%
2	India	12.55%
3	Brazil	12.00%
4	United Kingdom	11.30%
5	Germany	8.66%
6	Vietnam	7.71%
7	France	6.17%
8	Republic of Korea	6.09%
9	Italy	5.46%
10	Romania	5.13%

Rank	Via Email	Via Site Spoofing
1	HSBC	PayPal
2	PayPal	eBay
3	Banco de Bradesco	Yahoo!
4	World of Warcraft	HSBC
5	Bank of America	Bank of America
6	Amazon	Banco de Bradesco
7	Chase Bank	Halifax Bank
8	ANZ	World of Warcraft
9	Halifax Bank	Chase Bank
10	Standard Bank of South Africa	Amazon

Microsoft warns of evil malware

Software outfit Microsoft is warning about a new piece of malware which snuffles your browser and then imitates the relevant malware warning pages from Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome.

Rogue:MSIL/Zeven creates fake warning pages which are very similar to the real thing.

It is all part of a cunning social engineering scheme, but in this case the malware authors are relying on the user's faith that there browser at least always tells them the truth.

The malware looks real. It allows you to scan files, tells you when you're behind on your updates, and enables you to change your security and privacy settings. In fact it can even find malicious files, but of course it cannot delete them unless you update, which requires paying for the full version.

If you are dumb enough to buy the product it will open a window that provides a useless "Safe Browsing Mode" with super strong encryption.

What seems to have got Microsoft's goat is that the rogue antivirus webpage looks awfully similar to the Microsoft Security Essentials webpage. They even copied the awards received by MSE and a link to the Microsoft Malware Protection Centre.

Of course none of the three browser makers would ask someone to download and install something, shelling out some cash in the process.

The Firefox warning page has a typo where one of the buttons says "Get me our of here".

Virus Fools People Into Uninstalling Their Antivirus Software

Symantec has issued a warning for users to beware the “AnVi Antivirus”. The virus is malware that attempts to fool you into uninstalling legitimate antivirus software.

In a press releases issued today, Symantec warns that the AnVi Antivirus will give users a pop up telling them that there is a problem with their current antivirus software, then it will encourage them to remove it immediately. The virus will display this cheeky little message:

“Uncertified [program name] antivirus software detected on your computer. You need to remove {antivirus name} software for correct operation of the Antivirus.Attention: If you don`t remove [program name] software, the performance of your computer will dramatically degrade.

Press “OK” to remove the [program name]”

Whether or not the user hits the ok button or not, the virus will begin the uninstall process for the antivirus software on the computer.

Once the legitimate antivirus software has been removed, the program connects to a website and begins to download its own anti-antivirus program, which will then gleefully wreak havoc on your system. The fake antivirus software then attempts to convince you that your system is seconds away from exploding due to the terrible, and incredible amount of malware on your system, all of which are, of course, fabricated. It then, inevitably, asks for money to help you rid your computer of these potentially disastrous infections.



The AnVi Antivirus can be picked up either through a download, or as a Trojan. Once it is active, it can hijack a web browser, further infect your computer and disable various security protocols. The one thing it will not do, is help your computer.



Symantec has issued ways to get rid of the virus on their official help forums. The virus targets several antivirus programs including Microsoft, AVG, Spyware Doctor, Zone Labs and Norton.

Facebook Partners with McAfee to Improve Security

Facebook and McAfee are giving users discounts on security software...and users who's accounts are compromised will have to pass a scan before getting back in to Facebook.

Social networking giant Facebook and online security firm McAfee have announced a new partnership that offers Facebook users a free six-month subscription to McAfee’s security software and discounts on continued subscriptions…but that will also see Facebook users required to pass a McAfee security scan to get back into Facebook in the event their accounts are compromised.

“Facebook is very serious about security and has made significant efforts to protect its users and service by investing in dedicated teams and sophisticated systems,” said McAfee executive VP Todd Gebhart, in a statement. “We believe our partnership will make a real difference in the battle to secure the Internet by giving so many more people access to industry leading technology from McAfee.”

The deal makes McAfee Facebook’s exclusive provider of security software for its members; Facebook says it isn’t taking any money out of the deal if users sign up for discounted McAfee subscriptions. The service will initially be available to Facebook users in the United States, UK, Australia, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the Netherlands. The program will extend to different countries in the first quarter of 2010.

Facebook users whose accounts are compromised will be required to use a free tool to scan and clean up infected computers, secure their account, and learn about good security practices. There won’t be any charge for use of that tool, although it’s not clear if Facebook and McAfee intend to offer the tool for platforms other then Microsoft Windows. Facebook and McAfee will also collaborate on content for Facebook’s security page.

The agreement is certainly a major marketing coupe for McAfee, which now has access to hundreds of millions of Facebook users, all of whom are now potential customers. However, the companies are also pitching the deal as a step forward in helping secure consumers’ Internet experience and cut down on identity theft, fraud, and other forms of online crime.

Add BitDefender QuickScan For Extra Security From Malware

Surfing on the Internetsometimes can pose a danger as malware can easily violate the system without our knowledge. When we click away from one website, we could be led into another which compromises the security of our system. BitDefender QuickScan is a Google Chrome extension which can detect malware quickly and efficiently.



While a firewall or antivirus software application may easily detect common viruses, Trojan horses, worms or malware, some of the newer menaces may escape the net. BitDefender Quickscan can strengthen the security in the system without utilizing a great deal of the system’s resources. Besides, it detects active malware within a minute so that appropriate action can be taken by the user to eliminate the threat. However, BitDefender QuickScan does not offer a virus cleaning service and the user would have to use an antivirussoftware to remove the threat.