News, tips and updates from the GetSafeOnline.org team
This video shows a spyware attack underway. Scary stuff. You may want to hide behind the sofa.
This is why you need to keep your computer safe when you go browsing. For more advice on preventing attacks like this, see GetSafeOnline.org’s advice: Protect your PC.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
This shows why you shouldn’t use poorly written software.
A web browser should properly shield any code it runs, did the vendor not here the term “sand boxing”?
If you simply run more secure software you will be reasonably safe. Of course someone can break into your house and go through your hard drive (unless you use full hard drive encryption) but that’s a different story.
What we need is vendors to actually produce good software.
Any chance of listing what attacks where launched on that box? Part of the video looked similar to the one posted by ISC concerning the WMF attacks. That was a prime example of how huge numbers of machines can be compromised by people choosing extremely poor quality software. Who ever thought that allowing executable code in an image file was a good idea?
And yet people still buy software from companies that either aren’t skilled enough to provide adequate security or do not consider it important enough to provide it.
A quick question to anyone reading this:
How do you know this page really is “getsafeonlineblog.org”?
I regulary use the internet for online banking etc. daily browsing. From watching the video above i am very familar with McAfee Site Advisor and would strongly recommend it to every internet user. The issuse with computer security is that the majority of people are unaware of what can happen, and when they find out its often too late to reverse. I beleive security companies such as McAfee should promote their software through television advertisments to bring about the awareness of computer security. Its all good saying “I don’t use my computer for anything other than browsing,” but little do these people know is without a firewall and virus/spyware protection in place one person’s insecure computer can cause another person’s misery. We must never forget that fraudsters and hackers are always one step ahead, and implementing new ideas to combat fraud just isn’t adequate. We are currently living in an era where being vigalent is not enough. The time has come for the people of Britiain to be educated in this field. Paul 17, Liverpool.
I assume that the users without much computer knowledge are perhaps more at risk from this type of attack. Could you perhaps make the video easier to access. I have just tried to view it but I don’t understand phrazes like @drag this to your bookmark toolbar’ etc, how about a button saying ‘click to download’, without the stuff I don’t understand.