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ESET: Scam Targetting Social Networking Goers: Twitter and Rogue Antivirus
June 2009 by ESET
Twitter - one of the most widely-used social networking sites faces attacks of rogue-antivirus products and social engineering. The scammers are entering en-masse their Twitter statuses using keywords, such as "Twitterbest "and "Zasaden" in effect elevating the URLs to the so-called Twitter Trend Topics – the most frequently used terms. These are then connected to rogue links, usually containing a "catchy" phrase, such as one referring to pornographic content.
By clicking a link, affiliated with the status keyword (TwitterBest.mp or Zasaden.mp), the user is directed to fake websites containing malicious code. ESET urges its clients to refrain from clicking these sites as they typically urge the visitor to consent with a utility update, such as a Flash player or contain some other malicious application. Upon consenting with the download, the malicious software becomes installed and the user receives a false notice of an infiltration in his/her computer. Subsequently, an offer to download a "Fast Anti-Virus 2009" appears.
According to Juraj Malcho, the head of ESET VirusLab, "Rogue- Antivirus solutions and other forms of malicious application present a danger because they can lure significant amount of money from an unskilled user. Moreover, this form of malware tends to employ pesky dialog boxes, which are a drag on productivity.
Even as recently as a year ago, ESET experts have in numerous articles predicted the increase of the so-called rogue Antivirus solutions. To those ESET clients who encounter this form of threat, we recommend to carry out an in-depth scan of the PC without a delay, followed by a system restart.
