Forged Email on Changing Password Targets Facebook Users, Says Avira

Security researchers with security firm Avira has warned netizens of the forged Facebook emails urging users to change their passwords. These emails intend to set up malicious content on the systems of the users.

The subject matter of the deceitful emails are that the Facebook passwords has been modified to ID####, where # is a casual number and the mails seemed to arrive from facebook.

The email informs a user about the change of password of the Facebook account as a precautionary measure to safeguard the user's account. Along with this mail, a user also receives a new password in attached document.

The title of the attached file is Facebook_Document_Id####.zip and an executable file is present with the icon of Microsoft Word document. Trojan is installed by the .exe, which also downloads a legit .doc file simultaneously from the Internet.

This activity is undertaken with an intention for avoiding unperturbed suspicion. Though for convincing people, the Russian matter is written in English, it exerted enough doubt.

According to Avira researchers, Bredolab Trojan's this particular version presents threats to users as it istalls and download a forged antivirus program that replicates Microsoft Security Essentials, reports softpedia on January 19, 2011.

Taking into consideration the unwanted scams associated with this malicious software, security experts with Avira have advised Facebook users to take extra precaution while opening e-mail attachments. Netizens are also recommended to keep up the security patches along with the application software so that they can avoid their systems from being attacked with security holes.

However, this spiteful event provides enough justification to the to the 2010 operation by Dutch Police, in which 143 command and control servers were under vigilance for information stealing botner or failure of Bredolab in other words.

Furthermore, the repercussion of the above-mentioned incident is evidence enough to prove the repeated failure of security researchers in avoiding cyber crimes. Even though, researchers claims that they have initiated enough awareness programs on security pages of Facebook.

Related article: FIRST Reveals Staggering Rise in Computer Hacking in China

» SPAMfighter News - 1/28/2011