Here’s How Naughty Boys Use Twitter
Beware.
PandaLabs has discovered a new attack on
Twitter users. It says cyber-criminals
have created hundreds of Twitter accounts and published thousands of
comments in them under the topic "PhishTube Broadcast," in relation to
the popular rock band, Phish. This helps them push them into the ranking
of most popular topics.
By
infiltrating Twitter with comments, these cyber-criminals are ensuring
their presence in the “Trending Topics” list, resulting in greater
visibility and more user traffic to their comments.
The
Trending Topics list appears in the interface of all Twitter users,
listing the subjects most talked about by the network's users. Clicking
any of these topics returns a series of results displaying comments
related to these issues and the users that have published the comments,
says PandaLabs, Panda Security's malware analysis and detection
laboratory.
Now, if
Twitter users click on the "PhishTube Broadcast" Trending Topics link,
they will see the malicious comments published in the accounts created
by the cyber-crooks. These include links pointing to a spoof
pornographic Web page and users who click on any of the items on this
page will end up infecting their computers with a copy of the
PrivacyCenter fake antivirus.
A fake
antivirus is a type of adware designed to run a spoof scan of the
system, as if it were a legitimate antivirus. It falsely informs users
that their computers are infected with malware. The aim is to make users
believe their systems are infected, and then offer them the chance to
eliminate this supposed malware by buying a 'Premium' version of the
fake antivirus. The overall objective is to profit from these sales.
"With
millions of users, this (Twitter) network is extremely attractive to
cyber-criminals, and it is likely we will see it targeted more often in
the future," says Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs.
A
few days ago, PandaLabs had estimated that nearly 30,000 videos on
YouTube are with comments containing links that point to a Web page
designed to download malware. This is another example, it said, of how
cyber-criminals are attacking popular Web 2.0 sites to distribute
malware. Similar attacks have previously been seen, to a lesser extent,
on sites including Digg.com and Facebook, informs PandaLabs. (Read:
Are Cyber Crooks using YouTube, Facebook?)
As the social networking craze is growing among teens,
cable, TV company Comcast suggests some tips to maintain privacy while
using the online networks. It says parents should become familiar with
networks like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to advise their children
about the importance of being safe and smart while communicating
online. (Read:
5 Tips to Use Facebooks, Twitters Gracefully)
Similarly, a study shows that teen girls who
depict themselves online in a provocative way and who have a history of
child abuse are more likely to receive online sexual advances. Then they
meet those individuals offline. It suggests parents should know how
their teenage girls present themselves online. (Read:
Is Internet Bad for Teen Girls?)
PandaLabs, according to the company, has an automated system that
analyzes and classifies thousands of new samples a day and returns
automatic verdicts – malware or goodware.
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