The Symantec Report on Rogue Security Software includes an in-depth analysis of the methods scammers use to distribute rogue security applications. This blog presents some of the highlights of the research into the distribution of these scams.
In the report, the following distribution and advertising trends were observed:
• Ninety-three percent of the top 50 most prevalent rogue security applications were distributed as intentional downloads. This means that victims are tricked into believing they are downloading legitimate security software and subsequently installing the rogue application.
• Seventy-six percent of the top 50 most prevalent rogue security applications were classified as unintentional downloads. This means that the software may be installed unintentionally through drive-by downloads or...
The hacker's place in the pop culture continuum is as anti-hero. This is an image portrayed in movies and novels - the hacker is a wild-card with the power of deus ex machina who can be called upon to cheat technology or exploit a loophole in the system. Since computers don't lie and the system is perfect, the hacker invokes black arts in gross defiance of reality and the law in order to accomplish his (as hackers are overwhelmingly portrayed as male) goals. Yet we often sympathize with the fictional hacker for this exact reason. The system irks us and we often wish we could circumvent it.
The nineties had its own hacker anti-hero: Kevin Mitnick.
Most of Mitnick's story has been told by the media and in a book entitled Takedown, by John Markoff and...
