Hacked MySpace page serves up fake Windows update

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Hacked MySpace page serves up fake Windows update

There's now one more reason to be security-conscious while using MySpace.com: fake Microsoft updates. Using a hacked MySpace profile, online criminals are trying to trick victims into downloading a malicious Trojan Horse program by disguising it as a Microsoft update, according to researchers at security vendor McAfee.

The attack is certainly not widespread -- McAfee has seen it used on only one MySpace profile -- but it does show how sites like MySpace can be abused by criminals. Web surfers are presented with what appears to be a popup window advising them to download the latest version of Microsoft's Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, which was just released this Tuesday. This software is distributed by Microsoft to help Windows users rid their systems of malware. In reality, the popup window is just part of a larger image that takes up most of the computer screen. If the user clicks anywhere on this image, his computer will then begin to download the Trojan program. Hacked MySpace page serves up fake Windows update | InfoWorld | News | 2008-01-11 | By Robert McMillan, IDG News Service