Cyber criminals will reportedly use Valentine’s Day (February 14) to spread a malicious malware. This is a software intentionally designed to damage a computer or to access it, therefore keep away from it.
The malware which uses events such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas or Halloween as a bait, aims at infecting computers and is already well known in the IT field, informed Panda Security in a press release.
Obviously this year won’t be an exception, therefore do not be surprised to see numerous messages circulating around the web and pointing you to download links with romantic greeting cards, videos, gift ideas or messages, most of them posted on Facebook and Twitter around Valentine’s Day.
Cybercriminals exploit all their possibilities including Facebook, Twitter or Google + which grant them access to millions of users who use these social networks. The web surfers will be bombarded with offers whose main target is to spread the malware through e-mail.
A new attack on Facebook was recently discovered. The malware makes use of users’ posts to spread. A seemingly harmless message invites people to install “Valentine’s theme” on Facebook. However, if the user clicks on that post, is very likely to be redirected to a page that requires to install the theme.
That’s the moment when the malicious file pops-up and after being run, will display ads from other sites.
Here is a collection of Valentine’s themed malware campaign detected by PandaLabs, the anti-malware laboratory of Panda Security:
Waledac.C: This worm is usually spread by e-mail and looks like a postcard. The email includes a link to download the postcard. However, if the user clicks on the link and accepts to download the file, then it get nothing else than the Waledac.C worm, which will easily squeeze into the PC. After the computer is infected, the worm uses the e-mail of the affected user in order to send spam messages.
I Love.exe you: This is a RAT (Remote Access Trojan) that allows attackers to access victim’s computer and thus all personal information.The trojan allows its creator to remotely access the computer, steal passwords and control the file management.
Nuwar.OL: This worm is usually spread by e-mail messages with subjects like “I love you so much”, “In my heart” or “You’re in my dreams”. E-mail’s content includes also a link to a website which delivers the malicious code. This page looks pretty simple, like a romantic greeting card with a large pink heart. Once it has infected a computer, the worm sends a large number of emails, thus lowering the network and computer’s speed.
The vital life force is the sperm and it is all that is getting viagra responsible for our being here. They viagra sale arrived last week and I am fairly religious about exercising – Pilates or yoga – and I walk a lot more. It’s been approved by simply US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved ingredient, which increases blood circulation to the male sex organs. viagra canada shipping Kamagra Pills should be consumed with water, an hour before an intercourse with water and effects last for 4-6 hours. generic viagra cialis Valentin.E: This worm can be seen in e-mail in messages with subjects like “This is true love” or “true love”, and an attachment called “friends4u”. If the targeted user dares to open the file, a copy of the worm is immediately downloaded. Then, the worm uses the e-mail address to send copies of itself in order to spread and infect as many users as possible.
Storm Worm: Works pretty much as the above mentioned trojans using the e-mail.
What to do: tips.
Do not open e-mails or messages received from unknown persons on the social networks.
Do not click on links included in emails, even if they may come from sources that seem to be reliable. It is more recommandable to access the URL in your browser. This rule applies to messages received from any email client, orcoming from Facebook, Twitter or other social networking or messaging applications, etc. If you click on any such links, take a close look at the page you get. If you do not recognize it, close your browser.
Do not run attached files that come from unknown sources. Especially in the coming days, watch out for files that claim to be Valentine’s Day cards, romantic videos, etc.
Even if the page appears legitimate, it shoudl not rivert you to a download link. If you really want to download or install any executable file and you begin seeing unusual messages on your computer, you have probably been infected with malware.
If shopping online, type the store address in your browser rather than going through any links that have been sent. Buy online only from sites that have a solid reputation and provide transaction security by encrypting all information that was entered into the page.
Do not use public computers or those using unsecured WiFi connection to make transactions or operations that require entering passwords or other personal details.
And you absolutely need to have a good antivirus installed on your computer.