Privacy, Security & Virus Information

Don't Look Round – E-mail Spamming is Back

As Michael Corleone famously exclaimed in the famous scene in Godfather three "just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in" There may have been a few thousand people who were feeling about the same as the Din when the realization that they had been caught out by the oldest hacker's trick of them all- an e-mail spam attack.

Whilst not quite an attack with automatic weapons from a helicopter, spamming can hurt, especially around the area of the bank account. The news of a recent and particularly virulent e-mail attachment attack that has reportedly caught a large number of people out has caused the anti-virus protection organisations to issue notices calling for increased vigilance.

Apparently the attack has come in the disguise of e-mails containing a particularly appealing subject line, which looks just like any other SEO driven promotion The e-mail then invites people to click on a link that will lead them to major savings in popular consumer items, usually easily shippable medicines or downloadable software. Whether they do so in attempt to rub the anti-virus industry's nose in it, one of the key bluffs on offer was a shareware anti-virus program that actually installed a back door on the infected computer, to allow entry to a hoist of viruses, malwares and botnets, or anything else that the hacker's saw fit to throw in.

This type of attack had been virtually eradicated in recent years thanks to increased efficiency and more wide spread use of spam filters. It now appears that the hacking industry have found a way to circumnavigate the filters. This unfortunate development has meant an increase in the frequency of e-mail driven spam attacks, with hackers even using a fake "Delivery Status Notification Failure," to distract the computer owner and user, and pressurise them in to clicking on a bogus link to hell.

It cannot be emphasised enough how many dangers the public are exposing themselves to by failing to ensure that their computers, and with it their personal security, are being put to risk by failing to provide themselves with proper and effective virus protection cover. While there will be costs involved, they will be minimal when compared to the financial and often emotional damage that can be caused by being a victim of a virus attack.

The Godfather had his own innovative methods of striking back at his enemies. You should let your virus protection software send the hackers to sleep with the fishes.

 

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