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Malware Distributed through Fake Information Regarding Ongoing Olympics, Says Sophos

According to a warning by researchers from Sophos the security company, cyber-criminals are posting fake information regarding the 2012 Olympics, going on in London, so they can spread malicious software onto the PCs of unwitting Internet-users.

Using a header "Huge scandal with the USA Women's Gymnastics Team on 2012 London Olympics," one electronic mail distributed in bulk states that the Gold Medal winner Gabrielle Douglas a participant of the Women's Gymnastics has been banned from playing international games for the rest of her life.

The electronic mail continues that the reason for banning Douglas is reportedly her being tested and found as taken the prohibited 'diuretic furosemide.' And as the case unfolded further, the athlete had been suspended till the end results appeared, as per the UK Olympics Committee.

Moreover, a YouTube video is provided so the e-mail reader can 'now' watch the incident.

But clicking on the hyperlinked expression "now" rather than lead onto YouTube, lands the user onto one false YouTube page which asks him to take down one seemingly plug-in of Adobe Flash for watching the video.

However, the plug-in actually is a virus Sophos identified as Troj/JSRedir-A or Troj/Agent-XIK.

Remarking about the aforesaid spam mail, Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluley of Sophos stated that like always, it was important that recipients thought again prior to clicking on web-links within unsolicited e-mails. Besides, anybody truly wishing for remaining updated with the current happenings in London must go to only reputed news websites instead of believing a message which landed inside his mailbox from nowhere, Cluley cautioned. Nakedsecurity.sophos.com published this on August 3, 2012.

Furthermore according to the security researchers, it's evident from the aforementioned happening that PC-viruses are capable of attacking one's computer as also vital files anytime. Therefore, one requires maintaining backups of his data early on.

Meanwhile, a similar Olympic-themed spam mail emerged during the end-week of June 2012, according to security researchers from Trend Micro. That message told the recipient that Master/Visa Card Europe randomly selected his name as well as e-mail id for its London 2012 Olympic promotion therefore; he required knowing more via initiating communication with the coordinator.

Related article: Malware has lesser proximity to your inbox now!

» SPAMfighter News - 8/8/2012

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