Massive 'Fake AV' Attack Launched
Think twice before opening e-mails concerning credit card charges, business cards, or vacation photos. According to security firm Sophos, criminals have recently launched a large-scale "fake AV" attack online, using massive quantities of e-mail spam. Subject lines in circulation include "You're invited to view my photos!" and "Your Vistaprint Order Is Confirmed," among others.
Opening the HTML file attached to the spam, however, redirects your browser to a hacked website that attempts to use a malicious iFrame -- or inline frame, for loading different HTML documents onto the same page -- to push scripts at a PC, which then downloads fake antivirus software. That's when the fun begins.
According to Sophos, fake AV -- aka scareware -- "is a class of malware that displays false alert messages to the victim concerning threats that do not really exist." Side effects may include continuous alerts and continuously being redirected to websites demanding payment. Whether you pay for the software or not, it doesn't do anything, and if you do pay, don't expect to be charged just once.
