Symantec's Home and Home Office Security Report–February Roundup

February's Home and Home Office Security Report covers a number ofsecurity issues, including this month's "Hot Topic," which describes anattack targeting insecure routers that could allow a hacker to view allthe information you type online, including passwords! Recently,researchers have discovered a method that hackers may be able to use tobreak into your networks through your home wireless or wired router. Totake advantage of this issue, a hacker would simply have to entice youto load a Web page that they control. Once loaded, the site wouldhijack your router and allow the hacker to control the Web sites thatyou visit. For example, if you type in the Web address of your bank,the hacker could redirect your request to a site that is designed tolook like your bank's Web site, but is, in fact, controlled by thehacker. Any information that you enter on the hacker-controlled sitewould be viewable by the hacker, including user names and passwords foronline banking, credit card information, and personal identificationdetails.

The key to protecting yourself from this kind of attack is to set upyour router securely. When you set up your home network, ensure thatyou change the default password on your router to one that would bevery difficult for a hacker to guess. This report's "Top Blog" provideshelpful information about how to choose a password. For moreinformation, please see Password Protected—How to Develop a Strong Password.

February's report also discusses vulnerabilities that could reallyimpact home and home office users. For example, Microsoft Word wasaffected by a security flawthat could be exploited if Microsoft Word is used to open a documentthat contains hacker code. This document could come to you in an email,through a Web site that you have visited, or as a file that you haveshared with someone you trust. Successful attacks would allow a hackerto install a back door program on your computer that can, in turn,allow the hacker to gain full remote access to your computer and itscontents. At the time of this writing, Microsoft had not yet released asolution for this problem, but you can protect yourself. Ensure thatyou are running Microsoft Windows Update. Also, do not open anyMicrosoft Word documents you receive unless you are sure they are safeand that they come from a known and trusted source.

This issue also reports on a program called SystemDoctor that,ironically, has been advertised on some of Microsoft’s services, eventhough it is a potentially unwanted program that Microsoft tries toeliminate with Windows® Defender. SystemDoctor is a type of programthat has been colloquially called "scareware," meaning it givesexaggerated and misleading reports to the users in an effort to trickthem into purchasing the software that’s being advertised. To helpavoid this type of situation, you should be wary when clicking a banneradvertisement, even from trusted sites. Running antivirus software withup-to-date definitions will protect users from most unwanted andpotentially damaging applications such as these.

In addition, this report takes a look at a flaw in Google Desktopthat could allow data theft. All users of Google Desktop shoulddownload and install the available patch through the program’sautomatic update feature.

This issue also reports on Super Bowl Web sites that were hacked to distribute malware to visitors. The affected sites included www.miamidolphins.com, www.dolphinstadium.com, as well as mirrors of these sites such as www.proplayerstadium.com. A full system virus scan is recommended for anyone who visited any of the above sites during this period.

All of the topics mentioned here, along with other threats and Internet security news are discussed in more detail in the Symantec Home and Home Office Security Report for Februray, 2007. This month’s report can be viewed and/or downloaded from the homepage, as well as previous reports from 2006.