A worm targeting Skype's VoIP application is harvesting e-mail addresses and directing users to a range of sites hosting other malicious software, security vendors said Monday. Once a machine is infected, the worm sends a malicious link via instant messages to other users in person's Skype contact list, according to F-Secure's blog. . The link leads to an executable file that downloads a Trojan horse capable of downloading other malicious software, F-Secure said. It then shows a photo of a "lightly dressed" woman. The link also directs users to at least eight Web sites with information about Africa. It's not clear what type of scam or harm those pages intend, but some of the sites have advertising on them, indicating that it might be a click-fraud scam, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. Click fraud refers to the various tricks used to get clicks on advertising banners, which generate revenue for Web page owners. The link for this article located at NetworkWorld is no longer available. . The link leads to an executable file that downloads a Trojan horse capable of downloading other mali. targeting, skype's, application, harvesting, e-mail, addresses, directing, users. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
PandaLabs has detected a network of computers infected with the bot Clickbot.A, which is being used to defraud ‘pay per click’ systems, registering clicks automatically and providing lucrative returns for the creators. According to the data collected so far, the scam is exploiting a global network comprising more than 34,000 zombie computers (those infected by the bot). . The bots are controlled remotely through several Web servers. This allows the perpetrators to define, for example, the web pages on which the adverts are hosted or the maximum number of clicks from any one IP address in order not to arouse suspicions. Similarly, the number of clicks from the bot can be monitored as well as the computers online at any one time. The system used can evade fraud detection systems by sending click requests from different, unrelated IP addresses. The link for this article located at is no longer available. . An array of devices compromised by Clickbot.B is scheming against online advertising platforms, deploying upwards of 40,000 infected units.. Pay Per Click, Botnet Detection, Click Fraud, Cybersecurity. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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