Availability of TDSS/TDL-4 Botnet for Illicit Purposes and Activities

Cybercrooks have set up a web store that offers rented access to compromised machines on the TDSS/TDL-4 botnet. The latest version of the TDSS botnet agent bundles a component that turns compromised machines into a proxy connected to awmproxy.net. AWMproxy - which purportedly accepts payment via PayPal, MasterCard, and Visa - charges between $3 per day to $300 a week to would-be Baron Samedis who don't have the nous to acquire their own zombies. The site even offers a Firefox add-on to customers, further dumbing down the process.

Applications including surfing the net anonymously with someone else's IP address or launching cyber attacks, according to security blogger Bryan Krebs. Owners of infected systems used to send threats or view images of child abuse could find themselves in legal hot water.

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