Beware Of Malware-Infected Blogs

Internet users and blog-browsing addicts beware! As weblogs come free and are quite easy to use, they continue to gain popularity. Hence, criminals operating on the Internet are becoming more aware and are taking advantage of the use of these online personal journals to ensnare unwitting victims. Not long ago, spyware and malware were spread mostly through email and file-sharing, and system infection was prevented by spam blockers and email scanners. Nowadays, clicking on a seemingly harmless link can make you vulnerable to those with shady intentions in an instant.

A common practice of computer crooks involves making up phony weblogs that look harmless or genuine. They then embed viral codes or keylogging programs within the site, and send out the blogs url address through spam e-mail, chat rooms or instant messenger. Even innocent blogs that allow comments that are not moderated may fall be victimized through comment spam leading to infected blogs. The trick lies in convincing the potential victim to click on a link that activates the malware embedded in the blog site, or leading them to input valuable information within the fraudulent blog, such as credit card details...