Adware Firms Exploit IE7’s New Functionalities

New functionalities of IE7 such as 'tabbed browsing', 'RSS feeds', and 'search boxes' are drawing the attention of spyware makers who would use them to drop malware on to machines to generate revenue. According to Trend Micro's anti-spyware CTO Ed English, IE7 would soon become the world's dominant browser after it installed on users' systems via Windows Updates. It would then create a lot of opportunity for spyware to enter as a result of compromising tabs or search boxes.

In early December 2006, Trend Micro, with its two other CTOs, Raimund Genes and Dave Rand, English told IT Week in London that adware companies will exploit the advantages of the new features in IE7 like the new function of 'tabbed browsing' that can be tool over to present a link to an adware site.

The three also voiced to the increasing number summoning ISPs to employ enhanced content-based filtering to arrest spam and to provide security services in addition to their basic 'connectivity packages'. AOL has taken the lead and while most U.S.-based ISPs followed, much of the rest of the world hasn't followed it.

Fraser Howard, 'principal virus researcher' at 'SophosLabs' said that with the new abilities of IE7 to subscribe to feeds from external sites, there is little concern about its implications. For there is scope for content to hold JavaScript, which has from the past been run within some feed readers. He said 'readers', which also implies to browsers that serve as 'feed readers', give varied results with such content.

Howard further said that 'Open Search' feature of IE7, that allows external sites to include some simple code to their page in order for the user to add that site to their default search list, could be compromised.

If a mechanism evades 'user prompt' the process could present instructions for searches to specific servers, thus a potential revenue generator, he said. Experience show that when users are presented with more dialogs, they often accept them blindly. One can imagine the public demand for a 'script cleaning utility' to bring back default list of search providers in IE7, after a malware infection.

Related article: Adware And Spyware On A Rapid Increase

» SPAMfighter News - 12/11/2006