Computer Security Microsoft's 'Malvertising' Lawsuit Goes After Scareware...

Microsoft's 'Malvertising' Lawsuit Goes After Scareware Scammers

Has your curiosity ever got the best of you when the decision was made to click on a malicious advertisement that somehow installed an unwanted program or parasite onto your computer?

You are not alone. Computer users all over the world are finding out the hard way about malvertising, or a malicious online advertising.

Malvertising works by hiding malicious code as an online advertisement that can lead to dangerous content such as a website that advertises rogue security applications. As with any fake security program or rogue application, they are known to use scareware tactics to make you believe that you need to download and purchase a program to remove a parasite from your system or fix an issue as demonstrated in Figure 1 to the right. In addition to such rogue applications, malvertising can lead to the installation of Trojans which are known to allow remote attackers to gain access to personal data stored on your computer.

Recently five lawsuit fillings have been made by Microsoft against certain individuals utilizing the business names of "Direct Ad", "ITmeter INC", "ote2008.inf", "Soft Solutions" and "qiweroqw.com", which are all believed to have used malvertising tactics to distribute malicious software applications. Not only have these entities been promoting malicious applications, but they have set up websites that advertise and promote these programs under the false pretense that they provide some type of security solution. Microsoft already works with leading providers of online advertisement networks so they are able to help deter the threat of malvertising before it escalates to a much bigger issue. With the recent lawsuit filings, Microsoft is taking stern action against the perpetrators which would ultimately demoralize the trust that people have in certain online services including advertisements found on reputable sites.

Online advertising is one of the backbone structures of the Internet which keeps money moving so that sites are able to keep running. If advertisements keep getting a bad reputation because cyrbercrooks want to spread their malicious software through malvertising scams, then services that count on advertising will cease to exist. Just the other day a newly uncovered Botnet, named Bahama Botnet, was found to be connected to fake ads displayed on NYTimes.com while another hacking incident, that used a popup advert to spread fake security software, was found on Newsweek.com.

Other malvertising scams have been uncovered on popular sites in the past such as in the case of Facebook where an attacker sends a friend-message that leads the user to a phishing site to steal credit card data.

Those involved in the current lawsuit against "Direct Ad", "ITmeter INC", "ote2008.inf", "Soft Solutions" and "qiweroqw.com", have not been identified specifically but this is one big step in the right direction to discourage malvertising.

3 Comments

The worst part about this is having to spend money to subdue these pests. I'm referring to the "people" who foist this crapware on the not-so-tech-savvy netizen.

Would anybody agree with me that, for someone to think or believe he can get happily through life by committing crimes is probably characteristic of miserably low intellect?

This should be illegal. I didn't goto these sites and it still got to me and took over my computer. I was unable to run any executables. I THINK we have it fixed. I hope so.

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Chat soon!

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