MySpace worm exploits QuickTime feature
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(InfoWorld) - The social networking site MySpace.com is under what one computer security analyst calls an "amazingly virulent" attack caused by a worm that steals log-in credentials and spreads spam that promotes adware sites. The worm is infecting MySpace profiles with such efficiency that an informal scan of 150 found that close to a third were infected, said Christopher Boyd, security research manager at FaceTime Communications. MySpace, owned by News Corp., is estimated to have at least 73 million registered users. The worm works by using a cross-scripting weaknessÂ found around two weeks agoÂ in MySpace and a feature within Apple Computer's QuickTime multimedia player. The exploit starts with a user who visits a MySpace profile infected with an embedded QuickTime movie. The movie loads JavaScript code that overlays a row of menu options on a MySpace profile with a bogus menu. A QuickTime function, called the HREF track, can direct the player to use JavaScript commands to load Web pages into a browser frame or window. The JavaScript feature in QuickTime has legitimate uses, "but there are a lot of legitimate uses for technology that can be misused," said Ross Paul, senior product manager with Websense Inc. If an option in the bogus menu is clicked, the user is directed to a fake log-in page hosted on another server where the person's log-in details are captured. Websense has posted a screenshot of the fake log-in page. MySpace's "seemingly random tendency" to expire user sessions or log out users makes it less noticeable to victims that an attack is under way, according to a Nov. 16 advisory by the Computer Academic Underground . Additionally, the worm places an embedded QuickTime movie on the user's profile, which will then repeat the infection process for anyone who visits the profile. The worm has another malicious function. Once a profile is infected, the worm sends spam to other people in the user's contact list. Those spam messages contain a file that appears to be a movie but instead is a link to a pornographic site that also hosts adware from Zango, Boyd said. Zango, formerly 180 Solutions,Â settled last monthÂ with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for $3 million over complaints it didn't properly ask the consent of users before its adware was installed. Boyd said he's heard anecdotal stories of users removing the worm's JavaScript manually from their profile, but the worm reappears after some time if one of their friend's profiles is infected. Several variants of the worm have also appeared, he said. While some of the Web sites hosting the malicious QuickTime movie have been taken down, others have appeared, Boyd said. The Firefox 2.0 browser was flagging some of the bogus log-in sites as phishing sites, Boyd said. However, phishing sites can be active for several hours before they are flagged, he said. MySpace officials in London couldn't immediately comment Monday morning.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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MySpace.com is under attack by an extremely effective worm that steals log-in credentials and spreads spam promoting adware sites.
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A months-old backdoor in MySpace exposes photos in private profiles to lechers and snoops.  Ad-supported websites have risen to help people exploit the bug, and teenagers' private photos are being ogled on message boards.
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A new worm has been discovered in the wild that&#39;s not just settling for invading users&#39; PCs - it wants to invade their homes, too.
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Easy-peasy-sleazy: A new piece of PHP code making the malware rounds can install a phishing site on a compromised server in about two minutes.
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(InfoWorld) - A critical flaw in the way that the AOL's instant messaging client, AIM,Â displays Web-based graphics could be exploited by criminals to create a self-copying worm attack, security researchers are warning. The flaw was discovered by researchers at Core Security Technologies, which has been working with AOL over the past few weeks to patch the problem. AOL's servers are now filtering instant messaging traffic to intercept any attacks, but the company has yet to patch the underlying problem in its client software, security researchers said Tuesday. The flaw has to do with the way the AIM software uses Internet Explorer's software to render HTML messages. By sending a maliciously encoded HTML message to an AIM user, an attacker could run unauthorized software on a victim's computer or force the IE browser to visit a maliciously encoded Web page, said Core CTO IvÃ¡n Arce. This type of flaw could be exploited to create a self-replicating worm attack, according to both Core's Arce and Aviv Raff, a security researcher who on Tuesday reported that he'd discovered a related flaw in AIM. "The frightening thing about this vulnerability is that it can be easily exploited to create a massive IM worm, because it doesn't require any user interaction," Raff said. No attacks based on these flaws have been reported. Computer worms were front page news in 2003 and 2004 when Blaster, Sobig, and Sasser gummed up PCs around the world. And while Web-based worms have been in the news, a widespread instant messaging worm would be something new. Arce says that the safest thing is for AIM users to either upgrade to the 6.5 beta code or to downgrade to a 5.9 version of the software, which does not support the HTML rendering capability. But Raff offered different advice, saying that AIM 6.5 is still vulnerable to the flaw he discovered. According to him the best thing would be for AOL to "fix the underlying code," although AIM 5.9 is "probably not vulnerable to this specific vulnerability," he said. AOL may not be planning to fix its AIM code any time soon, according to a statement provided by the company late Tuesday. "We have resolved all of the issues presented to us by Core Security within all past, current, and future versions of AIM," AOL said without commenting on Raff's findings. Users should still be concerned, however. Core's Arce said that he was worried that hackers could find ways around AOL's filters. What AOL has done is "just one portion of the solution, and that's not the most effective portion," he said. "The most effective solution is to run a client that doesn't have the problem."
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The popular skinning feature in Nullsoft&#39;s WinAmp media player has left the door wide open for malicious attackers to hijack PCs.
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Year-old bug pulls a fast on Firefox A researcher has demonstrated how a security bug in Apple's QuickTime media player that was disclosed a year ago can cause Firefox to install backdoors and other malware on a fully patched computer. He said both Windows and Mac systems are vulnerable.â¦
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Exploit code affecting an unpatched flaw in an image uploader used by both Facebook and MySpace is circulating publicly.
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A malicious Trojan disguised as a Microsoft update is being served up from a MySpace page for which the name and password appear to have been phished. The problem highlights the trouble to which criminal abuse of MySpace can lead.
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A warning was issued today about a âPeeping Tomâ computer virus which can hijack webcams and spy on users. The virus, or âwormâ as it is technically
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MySpace, Excite and Blick serving them now If you haven't patched that media player or web browser in a while, now might be a good time. MySpace, Excite and Blick have been caught serving banner ads that attempt to install malware on machines running unpatched software.â¦
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A flaw in Mozilla&#8217;s Firefox browser makes it easy for cybercriminals to steal user information on Web sites where users create their own pages, such as MySpace.com.
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At least it's not stealthy, one supposes: A newly reported Trojan not only tries to delete all the user's files, but plays a highly annoying audio clip as it does so.
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A new variant of the MyDoom Internet worm contains some puzzling add-ins: a photo that bears a likeness of Sven Jaschan, whom police in Berlin last week charged with computer sabotage after he admitted to authoring the Sasser worm, and a high-level
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The hacker who discovered a recently patched QuickTime flaw affecting the Firefox browser says he has found an equally serious flaw in Adobe Systems Inc.&#39;s PDF file format.
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Rbot worm doesn't just tap your hard drive--it uses your camera to watch you.