Security Response

Over the past few years, file-sharing programs have grown inpopularity. Many people use them to share their music and games. Theyalso provide attackers with a convenient medium for infecting userswith Trojans or worms by offering tantalizing files. This kind of riskis well known to users and attackers alike; in Volume XII of Symantec'sInternet Security Threat Report, we noted that six of the top ten new malicious code families spread through file-sharing applications.

Another risk with file sharing, which many people are unaware of, isthe accidental exposure of confidential information. With nothing morethan a misplaced click, a user can unintentionally share the entirecontents of their hard drive, which could include their browserhistory, their personal documents, or their email messages.

Some file-sharing servers, such as certain Direct Connect servers,require a minimum...

Volume XII of Symantec's Internet Security Threat Reportlooks at a variety of trends that were seen in phishing and spam.Although spammers' and phishers' techniques and targets constantlyvary, one thing remains the same: they're trying to make money – andthey're getting better at it.

Phishing attacks targeting financial services remained the mostpopular target than any other sector, making up 79 percent of uniquebrands phished, and 72 percent of all phishing Web sites. The reasonfor this is obvious: phishers want money, and stealing bank account orcredit card information is one of the quickest ways to make it. Andwith credit cards commonly selling for less than ten dollars on theblack market, and bulk rates offered on credit card sales, the phishersneed a lot of them to turn a profit.

In an attempt to get more bang for their buck, phishers have starteddeveloping...

In my recent article about Spam in Multiplayer Online Games(smog), I talk about how spammers sell resources such as gold. Theseresources can be obtained with minimal user interaction, by using anautomated program to control characters and play the game. By doingthis, gold can be collected and either used or sold for real money.

As a massively multiplayer online game develops, an economydevelops. The value of rare items tends to emerge, and people will makefair trades or purchases from each other. People who play the game fora reasonable amount of time are able to purchase the same items asothers, by collecting gold (or whatever currency is used). Ideally, theeconomy will balance and end up at a fair point.

However, automated programs can be used to for this collection. Aprogram can run 24/7, doing nothing but harvesting gold. This gold...