Security Response

In previous blogs we have discussed how malware can exploit a search engine’s indexing features in order to spread malicious content. Recently we have observed a massive compromise of websites under the .ch and .nl top-level domains, aimed at performing a massive search engine optimization (SEO) attack to spread fake antivirus applications.

To keep track of pages on the Internet, search engines use automated web scanners, called crawlers or spiders. Their purpose is to find every possible Web page on the net, read its content, and then index it for future user searches. Attackers often try to exploit this feature in order to trick a search engine into associating a malicious Web page with very common...

2009 年年末近くなった頃、シマンテックは今後を検討し、オンラインセキュリティのトレンドについて 2010 年の動向をいくつか予測しました。今年上半期の状況をチェックし、現時点でシマンテックの予測がどの程度まで当たっているかを確認しました。

ここでは、シマンテックのトレンド予測が現在どうなっていると考えられるか要点を示します。各項目を評価して、それぞれ「進行中」、「ほぼ進行中」、「引き続き要警戒」、「おそらく 2011 年」のいずれかに分類しました。

この画像よりもさらに詳細が記載された、インタラクティブなページを表示するには、ここ (英語) をクリックしてください。ページを移動してから各予測をクリックすると、該当する項目の上半期の状況について詳細をお読みいただけます。

Last week I wrote about The Ghosts of Facebook; Facebook accounts whose owner didn’t appear to be a real person (in this case someone named Chong Loris). I got quite a bit of reaction to the blog. Some people registered with real concerns. Others wondered what the fuss was all about. In other words, was I truly shocked that some people are not who they say they are on Facebook?

I must admit I felt a little bit like Claude Rains in Casablanca. At one point in the classic Humphrey Bogart movie he shuts down Rick’s Café, saying he is “Shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on at this establishment.” At that moment he is interrupted by an employee and given his winnings from the roulette table.

So no, I’m not shocked about phony Facebook accounts. And there are a few scenarios where it’s not a big deal. Certainly a violation of Facebook policy, but not...

...and some of it masquerades as “marketing” and “newsletter” emails.

In March 2010, spam continued to account for a high percentage of all email traffic, peaking at 93.6% of all messages. The majority of this spam email was sent using certain tactics that were deployed to hijack unsecured computers and hide the senders’ identity. Recently, however, there has been an uptick in spam “marketing” and “newsletter” emails. These spam marketing and newsletter emails share one significant commonality with “regular” spam emails, which is that they are unwanted email messages sent to individuals who have no formal relationship with the message sender.

The distinction between the spam marketing and newsletter email and regular spam email includes the following:

•    The sender of the spam marketing and newsletter email may not go to extraordinary...