Regards, Ivan
Posted on 07/05/2004 7:09:56 AM PDT by MadIvan
Hackers are using pop-up ads to steal bank details from home computers, it was revealed yesterday.
They have planted a 'trojan' virus inside the bogus ads, which appear on screen without any warning.
Clicking on the close button to get rid of the advert triggers the virus, which then attempts to install itself on the computer.
It waits until the user logs on to their Internet bank account, then it steals personal details such as passwords, by reading key strokes. These are then passed back to the hacker.
The virus, named 'pwsteal.refest', marks a new level of sophistication for Internet fraudsters. Until now, hackers have relied on users visiting bogus bank sites after receiving an e-mail asking them to update their details.
Almost 50 banks around the world, including Lloyds TSB and Barclays, have been targeted in the latest attack. It is unclear how many customers have fallen victim to the virus.
A spokeswoman for the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit said: 'This is a type of virus we have not seen before but it isn't a surprise.
'When criminals find that one thing doesn't work they will try another way.'
She added that cyber bank crime - known as 'phishing' - was on the rise. 'Since last September we have seen a massive increase in the number of attempts to try to dupe people out of their bank information,' she said.
Security experts said updating virus software was the best protection. Barclays added it was aware of the latest virus but could not disclose how many customers had been affected.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
.
I belive MOZZILA web browser has better security etc..
also running an firewall may be of some assitance
have
mozzilla now
and zonealarm
bottom line is get away from microsoft browsers...
Another reason to stick to paper.;)
I loaded up Firefox 0.91, and it is slower than Larry Flynt going up a flight of stairs. Plus it doesn't load all of Drudge.
Am I doing something wrong?
Ah, aren't you the good news bear this afternoon? ;-)
Off to update and track this one down... I have a nasty feeling I just might have it. :-(
Paper? Are you one of those fiat currency sell-outs?
It's gold for me! :-)
Accuracy in reporting would be better... "Clicking on the close button"
NEVER click on a button inside of a Pop-Up that says NO, CLOSE, EXIT etc.
Try the little " x " at the very top right corner to close the box. If the pop-up does not close, you have a virus sitting there to see what you do next!
The only safe thing to do is use your "ALT-CTRL-DEL" (all threee keys simultaneously) to close the IE application. If you can't close it, hit the combination again (win 95-98) to re-boot. All else fails - turn the damned power off on the computer. That always works.
Any questions feel free to ask!
from symantec:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/pwsteal.refest.html
IMO, All pc users need to have a dependable firewall Zonealarm will do),
and be assiduous users of antivirus (free one is AVG)
and run BOTH
Spybot Search and Destroy (get from this mirror site)
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22262,00.asp
AND Ad-Aware
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,7423,00.asp
Run them according to directions at this forum - very successful results after this disasterous weekend....
http://forums.spywareinfo.com/index.php?showforum=18
Any time a page doesn't fully load, even after it is refreshed, it is because the page loaded in cache is incomplete or corrupted. Clear the cache and try it again. I have this problem with Drudge in Mozilla
(Mozilla 1.6 Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.6) Gecko/20040113)
and this works for me.
As for speed of the page load, this too can be effected by your cache settings. Make sure it is set to check the page once per session. This keeps graphics and other static objects in cache and doesn't reload them each time you visit the page.
Also, going into task manager and killing the popup works or right clicking on it and deleting it works and is safer too.
Thanks for the advice, I've cleared the Cache and it still won't display, I've increased Cache size, no luck.
The pictures look bad, the scrolling is "sticky", and the whole thing rune Reallllly Slooooow. Maybe some of us aren't cool enough to run anything other than MS......
For hard currency, yes. But when you're paying bills, a gold bracelet will probably not be taken as payment.
Not a typo. Firefox is based on much of the same code as Mozilla, but is not the same as Mozilla; Firefox is only at version 0.91. Mozilla is, as you say, at version 1.7.
I second your recommendation that the prior poster give Mozilla or Firefox a try.
Firefox is one of the best browsers I've ever used. It's quickly become my mainstay, even over Mozilla.
I'm downloading Mozilla 1.7 right now, I was trying to run Firefox 0.91, didn't have much luck. I want to dump the MS products for exactly the reasons you folks have listed- security, and I agree that the major selling point of the Mozilla family is that no one is writing viral code for it because the user population is small.
Anyway, thank you to all for your advice, I'll see if Mozilla 1.7 likes my machine any better.
For this particular phishing ruse I don't think that a firewall would do much good. Ditto pitching the Wintel box and running a Mac.
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