If a hacker managed to hack into your blog or website, what could they possibly do? They could insert malicious iframes or JavaScript code into your Web pages. Probably even attempt to steal some data. But most likely they would "search engine optimize" your website. Can this be true? Well, let me explain more.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a collection of techniques used to achieve higher search rankings for a given website. "Black hat SEO" is the method of using unethical SEO techniques in order to obtain a higher search ranking. These techniques include things like keyword stuffing, cloaking, and link farming, which are used to "game" the search engine algorithms.

So what does a hacker gain from all this? Why would a hacker help you achieve a higher search engine ranking? Quite the contrary; he is helping himself.

What the hacker actually does is add numerous additional Web pages to your website. Let’s call each of...

Misleading application, rogue software, fake AV: call it what you will, it’s everywhere. The authors of these applications are pumping them out by the hundreds, fooling many Internet surfers, and in the process they’re making big bucks out of it. In fact, as many of our readers will be well aware by now, it is the focus of a white paper Symantec has just released entitled Symantec Report on Rogue Security Software.

So if there are so many of these things, why should one called Windows Enterprise Defender be any different from the rest? Firstly, it tries to pass itself off as Windows Defender, which is a legitimate security product released by Microsoft. Obviously the name is similar but so is the GUI:

Notice the castle wall on the top-right...

Misleading applications, also known as rogue applications, have always tried to lure users into their traps by using various techniques such as fake security scans, misleading task bar notifications, popup windows, etc. To take this to a new level, developers of these applications are now frequently changing the product name and its associated website name in order to mislead users and antivirus vendors. Clones of the same product—with different names—continue to appear almost every day. Earlier this week Symantec published its Report on Rogue Security Software, which discusses misleading apps in greater detail. A couple of examples of rogue security software are given below. We identify one such family of rogue or misleading applications as WiniGuard:

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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...