Biting the hand that feeds IT
Biting the hand that feeds IT
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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/21/myspace_adware_attack/
Online banner ads running on MySpace.com and web sites infected more than one million users with adware, according to net security firm iDefense.
The attack exploited a Windows Metafile (WMF) exploit, fixed by Microsoft in January, to infect vulnerable Windows machines with malware from PurityScan/ClickSpring family of adware. The malware surreptitiously tracks internet usage while bombarding infected users with pop-up ads.
The banner ad that played a staring role in the attack ostensibly advertised a site called deckoutyourdeck.com. In reality, machines were directed to Russian-language website in Turkey, which tracked the number of times adware programs were downloaded, the Washington Post reports (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2006/07/myspace_ad_served_adware_to_mo.html).
Data on the site suggested that the adware had been installed on 1.07m PCs, a huge figure that equates to a big payday for the unknown perpetrators of the attack and plenty of pain for ordinary surfers. ®
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