Christmas and Holiday Sales Were Attack Targets According to December Top 10 Malware List

(BUSINESS WIRE)--GFI Software, a leading IT solutions provider for small and medium-sized enterprises, today revealed continuing high levels of Trojan and rogue malware circulating during December, with data revealing a surge in activity, boosted by themed activity around the Christmas and New Year holiday period. The top 10 data is compiled from monthly scans performed by GFI's award-winning anti-malware solution, VIPRE® Antivirus, and its antispyware tool, CounterSpy®, as a service of GFI Labs™.

Users were targeted with a variety of infected email, web links and other delivery mechanisms promising festive information, discount offers, Christmas e-cards and free software. The month also saw the big movie release of the season, Disney’s TRON Legacy, targeted by a wide array of SEO poisoned links, unwanted installs and other malware fakery, while a spate of fake iTunes emails caught several people off-guard, resulting in users running afoul of a malicious script that took advantage of a known Java exploit. GFI researchers also uncovered an Amazon receipt generator scam aimed at fooling retailers into honoring fraudulent receipts during the busy holiday shopping season.

December once again saw significant activity from Trojan threats, which continue to dominate the overall malware landscape. Seven of the top 10 malware detections were Trojans, with those seven accounting for almost 35% of all malware detections for the month. In addition to a range of Trojans, Worms also created major problems during December. Most significant was Worm.Win32.Downad.Gen (v), appearing at number seven in December's top 10, a detection for the Downadup worm, otherwise known as Conficker and Kido.

Taking advantage of a vulnerability in Windows Server service which allows remote code execution when file sharing is enabled, the Worm spreads across networks as well as removable drives, taking advantage of weak administrator passwords along the way. It commonly turns off some system services and anti-malcode protection, exposing infected systems to additional infection from other malware.

“Following on from the increased themed threat traffic we saw in November around Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, criminals once again attempted to take advantage of Christmas and the holiday season with themed attacks designed to drive users towards infected sites and to trick them into opening infected email and executables. Themed attacks, along with themed SEO poisoning and fake application installs, are firmly established as a successful means for malware creators to distribute malcode and create disruption for organizations and families alike,” said Tom Kelchner, communications and research analyst for GFI Software.

“December is a challenging month for computing security, with many businesses shut for a prolonged period and consumers at home for the holidays. Casual computer use rises and vigilance can drop, creating opportunities for malware infection that would otherwise not happen the rest of the year. The top 10 serves as a stark reminder that IT security should not be taken for granted at any time,” Kelchner added.

The problem of fake software was highlighted by FraudTool.Win32.FakeVimes!delf (v), number nine on this month’s top 10. This is a heuristic detection for files associated with the FakeVimes family of rogue security products, illustrating the continued growth of fake and compromised security applications as a means to circulate and covertly install malware onto PCs.

ThreatNet is GFI Lab’s monitoring system that retrieves real-time data from VIPRE installations. Statistics come from tens of thousands of machines running VIPRE.

Top 10 detections for December

Detection

Type

Percent

Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT

Trojan

21.93

Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.gen

Trojan

3.79

Trojan.Win32.Generic.pak!cobra

Trojan

3.14

Trojan.Win32.Generic!SB.0

Trojan

2.78

Exploit.PDF-JS.Gen (v)

PDF Exploit

1.79

INF.Autorun (v)

Trojan

1.63

Worm.Win32.Downad.Gen (v)

Worm

1.27

Trojan.ASF.Wimad (v)

Trojan

0.77

FraudTool.Win32.FakeVimes!delf (v)

Fake App 0.73

Trojan.Win32.Meredrop

Trojan

0.72

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Reduce your carbon footprint this Earth Day and save money at the same time

Userful Corporation, the worldwide leader in high-performance, low-cost desktop virtualization, today announces a "PC" giveaway in celebration of the 39th anniversary of Earth Day. Userful is giving away a free 2-user version of their innovative software which turns one computer into up to ten with the goal of having 100,000 people download the software and share their computer before Earth Day.

In 2008 Userful's PC-sharing software saved over 40,000 tons of CO2 emissions, and is on track to save over 200,000 tons of CO2 in 2009, the equivalent of taking more than 35,000 cars off the road, or planting 50,000 acres of trees!

Desktop computers sit idle while we check our e-mail, surf the web, or type a document. Userful's PC-sharing and desktop virtualization technology leverages this excess computing power to create an environmentally efficient alternative to traditional desktop computing. Up to 10 users can work on a single computer by simply attaching extra monitors, mice and keyboards.

"On March 28th hundreds of millions of people turned off their lights for Earth Hour," says Timothy Griffin, President of Userful. "Events such as Earth Day and Earth Hour prove that a simple change worldwide can dramatically reduce global energy consumption and consequent CO2 emissions. For example the government of Brazil recently deployed over 350,000 Userful PC-sharing workstations into schools. This alone will save 200 million kWh annually, the equivalent of turning 3.7 billion lights* off for an hour. Now imagine if on Earth Day hundreds
of millions of people decided to download Userful's free PC-sharing software to share their PC. The electricity and e-waste savings of this simple change would be incredible.”

Userful PC-sharing desktops have been deployed in over 100 countries with a typical configuration of 6 workstations per computer. Reducing the number of computers in use has additional earth-friendly benefits. Electronic waste is an increasing problem globally due to the quick obsolescence of electronics. This is compounded by the fact that computer waste is high in many toxic materials such as heavy metals and flame-retardant plastics, which easily leach into ground water and bio-accumulate. Using Userful products can reduce electronic waste by up to 80%, further decreasing its environmental footprint.

Userful is the simplest, and highest performance approach to desktop virtualization and management on the market. All other PC-sharing solutions lead to sacrifices in performance and substantial administration overhead. Userful offers the features of a full PC including high performance video for less than $50 per additional seat in large deployments such as a recent 356,800 workstation deployment in Brazilian schools, and uses standard PC hardware.
Savings of up to 90% in electricity use as compared to a traditional PC-per-workstation solution are achieved thanks to Userful's revolutionary solution.

Need an extra PC around the house? In celebration of Earth Day Userful is giving away a free version of its innovative software that gives you a second computer for free! This is the perfect way to reduce line-ups for the computer as spouses, parents and children battle for a turn.

"The free two-user giveaway doubles the utility and value of your existing computer with minimal cost," says Griffin, "In fact, if you already have an extra monitor and keyboard, it's like getting a free computer. Our goal is for 100,000 people to download the software and share their computer before Earth Day.”

The free two-user licenses distributed under this promotion enable users with an extra video card (or a dual-head video card) to add an extra workstation by simply plugging in a spare monitor, USB keyboard and mouse. Thousands of users have obtained free two-user licenses and information about the promotion from http://userful.com/earth-day-free-pc.

* Based on 526kWh per PC per year for operation; 1818kWh per PC for
production; electricity generated at 1.55lbs CO2 per kWh; 11,560lbs
CO2 per car per year; 60W per light; and 8,060lbs CO2 per acre of
trees per year

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Verbatim Announces New TuneBoard Speaker Keyboard for PC and Mac Users

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verbatim® Americas, LLC, announced today TuneBoard™, an innovative new Speaker Keyboard, to its PC/Mac Accessory line. In addition to giving users more control over sound playback Verbatim’s TuneBoard eliminates the clutter of speakers and wires on the desktop. With its sleek, modern design and personal music station features, the Speaker Keyboard will appeal to consumers who want to optimize their computing experience and those who want to update the look of their desktop systems.

The TuneBoard features integrated dual stereo speakers that are angled towards the listener for crystal-clear, high-quality sound and includes a media console with seven multimedia keys for controlling iTunes® with the Mac® version and Windows Media Player™, or default music player, with the Windows® version. The multimedia keys also provide muting, volume adjustment, play, pause, stop, previous track and next track control. Two additional hot keys are included for switching the enhanced bass on and off and to switch the keycap luminescent background lighting on and off.

Equipped with a built-in mini-microphone, Verbatim’s TuneBoard Speaker Keyboard is fully compatible with Skype® and other VOIP software. A built-in microphone jack and earphone jack are also included on the back of the keyboard.

Verbatim’s new Speaker Keyboards are designed with a modern glossy, polished surface that gives them a high-end look and feel.

“Verbatim is recognized worldwide for its leadership in providing high-quality, innovative products,” said Ron Hanafin, Verbatim Product Marketing Manager. “With the TuneBoard, Verbatim is offering a win-win solution for PC and Mac users who have limited desk space but want stereo sound with convenient controls when they watch videos and listen to music.”

Availability, Pricing

Verbatim offers TuneBoards for Windows® 98SE, XP, 2000 and Vista as well as Mac OS 10.4.X and higher systems. Designed with a modern glossy, polished surface that gives them a high-end look and feel, Verbatim’s new TuneBoard Speaker Keyboards are available through leading retailers, Internet resellers and distributors. The suggested shelf price is $69.99 for both models.

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