Scam Sites Storm!!

Scam sites have been on the upswing as of late, so I decided to make a sticky thread just to deal with them. They include sites that try to trick users into downloading some sort of POS anti-spyware (rogues)along with sites that try to goad users into downloading a codec file to view a particular video clip. Nine times out of ten, the user gets infected with Zlob\SmithFraud infections or goodness knows what else is lurking. [Read Discuss Here]

New Rogues & Fake Codec Sites

Three new anti-spyware rogues and two more fake codec sites appear for the week, guess the malware scumbags were busy getting ready for a holiday push. [Read|Discuss Here]

PC Butts: Liar Extraordinaire

PCButts, Internet thief, liar and overall scumbag has now laid claim that he is an MS MVP. On the SiteAdvisor review page he claims he is and has been for 4 years. I think not. [ReadDiscuss Here]

Spam & Phish On The Menu Today

Well today has brought a few very interesting reads about spam\phish. One on how it's not going away, one about a new start up that wants to charge for access to your email account and another about a phishing group which may be responsible for nearly one third of all phish messages sent. Read and Discuss Here

MS Updates Available Now!

MS has readied a few critical updates for the month of December, go and get yours!! See Here

Phishers Ratchet Up Spoof Sites

Phishers use machine gun method to hit-and-run victims with record number of spoofed domains. Read and Discuss Here

MessPlus!: Adware As Usual

Prompted by a comment on her blog by a Patchou troll, Sandi Hardmeier, noted MS MVP gives Mess Plus! another scathing review.
Read and Discuss Here

Zango, PG, MySpace & My First Article

Well it was yet another Paperghost\Zango bust fest. PG finds a profile on MySpace using an exploit which leads to a Zango site pushing Zango content vids. And of course you need to view the vids with the ever present Zango crapware. This stuff is almost as bad as the
codecs I wrote about last week. Read and Discuss Here

This week was my first article to appear in the Dave's Computing Tips newsletter. Check The Forum

And we broke the record for the most ever users online too. Read and Discuss

No, you DON'T Need To Download That Codec!!

Codecs are all the rage these days with malware writers. They trick users into downloading them to watch content on a website. Then you get some nice adware bundles, the most popular seem to be of the Zlob\SmithFraud variant. Rest assured tho, they will also have some other fun stuff included. Read More and Discuss Here

MySpace + Fake Profile = Zlob\SmithFraud

Well Paperghost and the team at SpywareGuide have stumbled upon a scam on MySpace to infect users with a variant of Zlob\SmithFraud. Nice. MySpace users beware of any profiles wanting you to download anything to view something. Read and Discuss Here

Zango 1-2 Punched by 'Zealots'!!

Two great anti-spyware legends, Ben Edelman and Eric Howes team up to show proof that Zango has not lived up to their recent agreement with the FTC. Go figure.

And to think Zango has always been so candid and honest in all their other dealings when caught using less than ethical tactics. NOT!!

Read More & Discuss Here

In Forums

We have a couple of interesting threads in the forum. One about the latest trend by malware authors to get users to malware sites. Look for this to take off.

Another shows a Flickr slide show put together by Sunbelt Software of all the fake security warnings generated by a ton of rogue anti-spyware apps. Read more about both the aforementioned in the Countermeasures News Forum

Over in the Phishing and Spam Forum forum see what could happen when you open an E-Card and it's packed full of nasties.

PCButts, aka Internet Scumbag Thief Strikes Again

Well this time the target of Mr. Buttwipe is yet another security tool, created by an MS MVP. And of course he got caught due to his own stupidity.

Gotta love it when morons try to take credit for something and screw up. Read More Here

Gromozon Authors Acknowledge Prevx By Trickery

It seems the Gromozon authors are a little annoyed at the good folks over at Prevx. They have now coded their Gromozon malware with a false claim that the developers at Prevx, are the authors of the infectious code, instead of the ones who have created a tool to remove it. Read More Here

Zango & SiteAdvisor In The News

Some new items in the Countermeasures forum today:

• Zango poll & news


• SiteAdvisor Plus Released

Read More Here

FTC Nails Zango Scumbags For 3 Ml

The FTC has finally gotten those scumbags at Zango\180Solutions to 'admit' they are lowlife scumbags, and used less than ethical means of delivering their software. Of course paying 3 million dollars and stopping delivery of the software, in their eyes is no admission of guilt, now is it?? ROCK ON FTC!! Read More Here

WinPatrol PLUS 30 Day Trial

BillP, creator of WinPatrol has decided to offer his users, or any users for that matter a trial version of their PLUS version. This is an excellent time to see just how well the program works and for a one time fee, you can't beat it. Read More Here

One Site + Three Minutes = System Destroyed

Well this past weekend I got my test box in a heap 'o trouble! In a very small amount of time, less than five minutes, about maybe three, my system got decimated and a reformat was the only option.

Keep your systems patched, security defense installed and do your best to keep on safe sites kids, it's a nasty place out there on the Net.
Read More Here

IE7 + XP Repair Update

In my previous blog about IE7 I pointed to info indicating that users who had to for whatever reason make a repair to XP would wind up with a broken IE.

It turns out, that this has allegedly been fixed in the IE7 FR version. My source, another MS MVP had been informed of the fix but due to NDA restrictions I can not share any 'official' info about it. But the IE team still recommends users uninstall IE7 before making any repairs.

And that leaves me to think that perhaps it's not quite repaired. At the very least the KB article should be updated.

IE7 + Win XP Repair = Busted IE!!??

Well it would seem that if you were one of the 3 million plus users who installed IE7, you better hope you don't have to repair XP. If you do and don't uninstall IE7 first, boy are you in for a surprise! How the hell did they overlook this? Read More Here