Gary Guseinov - CyberDefender Research Labs discovers dangerous Antivirus download

Our CyberDefender Research Labs has issued a warning to consumers planning any last minute searches on the Internet for Halloween costume purchases.

CyberDefender has identified a dangerous AntiVirus/Trojan downloader currently infecting searches for Halloween costumes. Upon encounter, the fake antivirus installer hijacks the user’s Internet browser and initiates a malicious process which can infect home PCs, creating a complete slowdown while compromising sensitive information

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“Popular Search terms have always been a target for cyber criminals,” says Achal Khetarpal, Director, CyberDefender Research Labs. “Users should only click trusted links or type in the site address they want into the search bar. And before they even go looking, they should check that their PC has an active Internet protection suite. Anti-spyware software is the best prevention against intrusion of malware.”

Parents interested in doing a safe search can follow these tips:

1.Make sure you have a security software suite installed in your computer (like CyberDefender’s Early Detection Center, for example).

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2.Check that your software subscription is active and that all updates have been installed.

3.Go to the website you are interested in directly (putting the link into the address bar) instead of clicking on links found through Google. This will save you from being re-directed to an infected site.

4.Be extra careful when searching for any hot topics such as holiday or celebrities. They’re prime targets for malware authors. Look for pages hosted by a site you know (like AOL, MSN and Yahoo!).
 

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Cybercriminals target topics currently popular to search on Google, a practice called SEO (search engine optimization) poisoning. Users querying the topics click on infected links which result with their internet browser hijacked and copious amounts of malware and adware downloaded instantly, all of which in turn affect performance and security.

CyberDefender Research Labs Alert: Warns Consumers to Say “No Thanks” to Malware Linked to Online Searches for Thanksgiving Invitations

CyberDefender Research Labs has found a high concentration of fake antivirus products that can infect consumer computers and lead to data theft during searches for guest invitations for celebrations on the annual holiday. Keyword combinations entered included: “Thanksgiving Lunch Invitations,” “Thanksgiving Invitation Template” and “Thanksgiving Printable Invitations.”

Out of 50 search results for each of the above three terms, nearly 20 of them directed the consumer to infected URLs. If the user clicks on the link, they are redirected to a fake scan page that tells the consumer they need an immediate security scan of their PC. Once the fake scan is complete, the user is prompted to download the malware.

“Online tools such as printable invitations often require downloading to customize and print, offering cyber criminals a straightforward path to target and infect the PCs of holiday planning consumers,” says Achal Khetarpal, Director of CyberDefender Research Labs. “Years ago, so long as you weren’t searching for free music/movie downloads or x-rated content, there were not significant dangers in search results. Today, the scale of the problem is massive; not only has the quantity of threats dramatically increased, but the sophistication of the malware has grown as well.”

One of the more harmful fake antivirus programs found, Smart Engine, is a variant of the Virus Doctor family. The rogue attempts to prevent genuine antivirus programs from running so the user cannot quarantine and remove the malware from the machine using these programs.