Antispyware firm warns of massive ID theft ring

Iria · Aug 6, 2005, 07:24 AM

AUGUST 05, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Officials at Sunbelt Software, a Clearwater, Fla.-based vendor of antispyware tools, said the company stumbled upon a massive ID theft ring that is using a well-known spyware program to break into and systematically steal confidential information from an unknown number of computers worldwide.

The operation was discovered yesterday during research Sunbelt was doing on a spyware program belonging to a particularly dangerous class of browser hijacking tools called CoolWebSearch (CWS), according to Sunbelt's president, Alex Eckelberry.
CWS programs are extremely hard to detect and remove, and are used to redirect users to Web sites that use spyware tools to collect a variety of information from infected computers.

The CWS variant being researched by Sunbelt turned infected systems into spam zombies and uploaded a wide variety of personal information to a remote server apparently located in the U.S. That server holds a "treasure trove of information" for ID thieves, Eckelberry said.

Sunbelt's research showed that the information being uploaded to the remote server included chat sessions, user names, passwords and bank information, he said. The bank information included details on one company bank account with more than $350,000 in deposits and another belonging to a small California company with over $11,000 in readily accessible cash, he said.
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Read More / Source: ComputerWorld

Tipstaff · Aug 6, 2005, 08:19 AM

For Hesus' sake someone get these guys off the net already. How much more do these guys have to do before some government finally takes action against these guys?

SexPistoL · Aug 6, 2005, 02:41 PM

So did they give any advice on how to remove or prevent CWS, from infecting your rig ?

Erroneus · Aug 6, 2005, 08:38 PM

Isn't spyware illegal by law now i the US?

Aug 6, 2005, 07:24 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 87	Antispyware firm warns of massive ID theft ring AUGUST 05, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Officials at Sunbelt Software, a Clearwater, Fla.-based vendor of antispyware tools, said the company stumbled upon a massive ID theft ring that is using a well-known spyware program to break into and systematically steal confidential information from an unknown number of computers worldwide. The operation was discovered yesterday during research Sunbelt was doing on a spyware program belonging to a particularly dangerous class of browser hijacking tools called CoolWebSearch (CWS), according to Sunbelt's president, Alex Eckelberry. CWS programs are extremely hard to detect and remove, and are used to redirect users to Web sites that use spyware tools to collect a variety of information from infected computers. The CWS variant being researched by Sunbelt turned infected systems into spam zombies and uploaded a wide variety of personal information to a remote server apparently located in the U.S. That server holds a "treasure trove of information" for ID thieves, Eckelberry said. Sunbelt's research showed that the information being uploaded to the remote server included chat sessions, user names, passwords and bank information, he said. The bank information included details on one company bank account with more than $350,000 in deposits and another belonging to a small California company with over $11,000 in readily accessible cash, he said. __________ Read More / Source: ComputerWorld

Aug 6, 2005, 08:19 AM	#2
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,660 Rep Power: 187 System Specs	For Hesus' sake someone get these guys off the net already. How much more do these guys have to do before some government finally takes action against these guys? __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Aug 6, 2005, 02:41 PM	#3
SexPistoL DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: UK Posts: 604 Rep Power: 0	So did they give any advice on how to remove or prevent CWS, from infecting your rig ? __________________

Aug 6, 2005, 08:38 PM	#4
Erroneus Get off my lawn! Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Denmark Posts: 13,343 Rep Power: 114 System Specs	Isn't spyware illegal by law now i the US? __________________