Recently, a new type of malicious software (malware) was discovered by researchers at BitDefender that collects passwords for banking and financial sites from users and sends them to a server in Russia. The catch is that this software solely targets users for the Firefox search engine. The malware downloads and remains in the "add-ons" folder in Firefox and begins to run whenever Firefox begins running. The malware then uses JavaScript in order to identify financial sites, ranging anywhere from PayPal to Bank of America, and then starts collecting usernames and passwords. It took long to detect because when its downloaded into Firefox, it saves under the name "Greasemonkey," which is a well-known collection of scripts that normally adds functionality to web sites visited through Firefox and wouldn't be detected by normal anti-virus software.
I recently had my debit card number and security code stolen by a taxi driver in Florida while attending a Student Leadership Conference and there were a couple of fraudulent charges made with my numbers and turned out to be a huge hassle. After that I decided to be much more careful with my personal info. Reading articles like this reminds me that nothing is ever safe, especially when on the internet. Its scary to think how easy it is for some people to retrieve your username and password for sites that manage your money through malicious codes like this.
Despite Firefox being known for its good security and advanced protection against spyware, there are still ways hackers manage to do their job. I hope this article helps some people realize they should always be careful with their passwords and whatnot. Also, I have never used Firefox and after reading and posting about this article I dont think I ever will. For those of you using Firefox I recommend going back to Internet Explorer or give Google Chrome a shot if you havent tried it its awesome.
1 comment:
This article tells a horror story about the case of "monkeygrease." This happens to be just one case of internet security being breached. In reality, there are countless ways hackers will steal personal information whether it be through firefox, internet explorer, safari, google chrome, or even a local intranet.
The bright side is there are things you can do to prevent such cases happening to you. Let's start with local security. In all the ways one can steal vital information from your computer, non-password protected local access to a computer is by far the easiest way to extract information. Start with making a personal username/password for your computer. Whether it be an apple or a PC using windows, set each account with a password, leaving a guest account without one for any others that may need to use your computer.
Now onto internet security.
Due to the fact that there is so many issues concerning internet security breaching, hackers, etc., there are many solutions. Some of these include firewalls, spyware protection, and anti-virus software. Firewalls protect ports, which are what your computer uses to access the internet. Trojans are programs which allow people to access your computer and steal whatever they desire. This includes passwords, credit card info (sound familiar), and other personal information. With a firewall, you have control over closing ports, thus preventing such attacks happening to yourself.
Anti-virus software these days are imperative when it comes to protection. It protects your computer from viruses, worms, and trajans as well. I personally use McAfee and it has faired me well.
Thirdly, spyware is a headache to say the least but it can be just as dangerous as anything else. Spyware gathers information and sends it back to the person who made it. I use ad-aware and have had no problems whatsoever.
On occasion (once about every 3 months) I bring my computer to a store and get it "cleaned." Basically, they take out all unnecessary data, cookies, spyware that gets through, etc. It costs about 50 dollars, but it's money well spent.
I hope this was informative to you. Hopefully no computer related horror stories will have you as the main character, but you can take the initiative and prevent it from even being a thought.
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