Is your password hacked? Find out

NEW DELHI: Were you tempted to download update of Flash player while clicking on a YouTube link provided by your friend on Facebook, stating ‘inte


resting video’. If you have already executed the action you have the ‘koobface worm’ Trojan installed in your computer stealing your login ids and passwords.

In fact ‘Koobface worm’, ‘Clampi’, ‘URLzone’ and the ‘Zeus’ Trojans were the four most dreaded criminals on the internet till December last year. They continue to fox network security experts around the world. Cisco annual security report for 2009 has warned internet users around the globe about these rising threats.

Their targets are social networking website and online banking users. Sitting stealthily in computers around the world, Trojans were transferring login ids and passwords to cyber criminals. ‘Koobface’, between August 2008 and December last year, has infected 3.1 million computers and continues to remain undetected by normal users. This Trojan initiates the process by mimicking email alerts from a Facebook friend.

Be careful while doing online banking transactions

Tagged with this is the ‘419’ scam that sends messages to all Facebook user friends asking them to wire money as you are stranded in a foreign country.

Newer entries of banking Trojans like ‘Zeus’ and ‘Clampi’ are the next threats, says the report. The Zeus Trojan infects computers via email phishing attacks or by ‘drive-by downloads’. Along with Clampi, it steals online account credentials with a focus on bank accounts.

Zeus is estimated to have infected 3.6 million computers as of October 2009. The newer Clampi is estimated to have infected hundreds of thousands of computers. Zeus malware stealthily sits in the computer and records logging in accounts and passes it on to the scamster.

Another banking Trojan URLZone, which shields itself from detection by computer users is an emerging threat. When the criminal using the Trojan makes a transfer from a victim’s bank account, the Trojan can alter the online bank statement to disguise the fact that an illegal transfer has occurred. Victims who check their bank accounts online, instead of reading paper statements, will not realise their money has been stolen.

User security technologies


"The sophistication built into Trojans like URLZone and Clampi points to an escalation in the race between us
er security technologies and attacker capabilities," said Cisco threat research manager Scott Olechowski.

Cisco Security Intelligence Operations estimates that these ubiquitous web file types are some of the most dangerous, with one in every 600 PDF files downloaded from the web containing malicious software. Data shows that one out of every 2,000 JavaScript files, and one out of every 3,000 Flash files, also contain malware.
Hackers break into a VoIP network

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network hacking/Vishing: It is growing popular among criminals, particularly because these methods can be difficult for authorities to trace. Hackers break into a VoIP network to eavesdrop, make ‘free’ phone calls, spoof caller IDs and engage in other exploits.
Hello, cyber criminal calling:

In 2009, several successful text message scams targeted the users of handheld mobile devices, such as cellphones and smartphones. Many users were contacted by scammers via SMS or phone and duped into revealing sensitive information, such as bank account numbers.