Malware, viruses and trojans, oh my!
Another day full of security alerts. Oh, and that thing about North Korea and the bomb.
Jack Kapica of the Globe reports that MS’s beta AntiSpyware app has been targeted by a virus that attempts to disable it, and then do various rude things to your computer:
Microsoft’s AntiSpyware package has not even been released as a finished product, and already it’s been hit by a virus.
The BankAsh-A Trojan, as security company Sophos calls it, is the first piece of malware to attack the product, currently available only as a beta download from Microsoft’s website.
Designed to steal on-line banking passwords from unsuspecting Windows users, BankAsh disables Microsoft AntiSpyware, attempting to suppress warning messages that Microsoft AntiSpyware may display and deleting all files within the program’s folder.
The Trojan also targets users of on-line banks such as Barclays, Cahoot, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest and Smile, Sophos said.
This of course is the worst kind of social engineering-based attack – it’s inspired by the fact that many hackers love to attack Microsoft. And they will do anything their wildest imaginings can contrive to attack it. So, will you install anti-spyware that you know is, more than any other, singled out for attack by hackers? Or, as an additional security measure, will you install the little-known but well-regarded app du jour?
One more thing – there is a Bank called Cahoot????