Computer botnets are extremely dangerous and are facilitated by rootkit infections. A botnet is a network of infected computers that can be used for sending out spam, stealing personal information, altering files, changing processes, cyber terrorism, etc.  Hackers use these for various illegal and criminal activities.  It is estimated that over 60 million computers worldwide are infected by botnets.  Rootkits are one of the most complex and insidious type of malware that are extremely difficult to detect and remove.  They can download updates to keep ahead of malware detection tools, as well as download new virus payloads that they install inside their encrypted folders to avoid detection.

Tizer Secure™ has done in-depth research on these botnets and rootkit infections and is providing sophisticated new tools developed utilizing proprietary technology for Windows users to combat them.   The most recently updated dangerous rootkits are Rustock, 4DW4R3, and TDL3 and we offer new tools to detect and safely remove them for free.

Tizer™ Rootkit Razor is our most advanced rootkit removal tool and the newest release is able to detect and safely remove rootkits Rustock and 4DW4R3.  It is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (32-bit only) and the newest release is available for download at http://www.tizersecure.com/about_tizer_rootkit_removal.php.

Our team was able to come up with a newer technique to combat the latest version of TDL3 and we have launched a new free tool to detect and remove this particular rootkit called Tizer™ TDL3 Razor.  TDL3 is one of the most dangerous rootkits that will infect Windows XP machines.  It was updated recently over the internet by its developers, making it nearly impossible to detect or remove through traditional security solutions.    TDL3 Razor is able to detect and safely remove the rootkit TDL3 on Windows XP machines with Intel processors and hard disks that use atapi.sys or iaStor.sys drivers.  To the best of our knowledge, TDL3 Razor is the only tool available today that can detect and remove this nasty rootkit infection on both of these drivers.  Microsoft has a malicious software removal tool that appears to include a utility to remove Alureon (another name for the TDL3 rootkit), but in our testing it was able to detect but unable to remove it.  Tizer™ TDL3 Razor can be downloaded for free at http://www.tizersecure.com/about_TDL3_rootkit_detect_remove.php.

Fake emails that claim to be from Facebook are being sent to users that read “Facebook Password Reset Confirmation, Customer Support,” encouraging them to click on an attachment to view their updated password.  What happens when you click on the attachment to retrieve your new password? It downloads a “password stealer” that will steal not only your Facebook password, but any other stored passwords you may have including email and banking passwords.

Hackers are utilizing Facebook because it is the most popular social networking website with about 400 million users.  The Facebook security page on the company website warns users of the spoofed email going around and reminds you that Facebook will never send a new password in an attachment. They suggest social networking users warn their friends about the scam.  The attachment in the email infects computers without any clear signs of what is happening so the user has no idea.  This spam is believed to have been sent using botnets  Cutwail and Rustock, which have the ability to control groups of computers to send out spam like this.  Tizer™ Rootkit Razor was just updated to be able to detect the latest rootkits Rustock and 4DW4R3 that have these hacker capabilities.  Download it free here to scan your computer.

You can expect that out of 400 million Facebook users, a good 10% will click on the attachment and be infected by this malicious virus.  That would mean 40 million computers infected, giving hackers such a large amount of personal information.

According to FBI reports last week, losses from online fraud rose from $264.6 million in 2008 to $559.7 million in 2009. Last year the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 336,655 complaints, a big 22.3% increase from the year before. The IC3 is a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center.

The highest percentage of complaints, 16.6%, were email scams that falsely claimed to be from the FBI to gain personal information. The top five categories of reported offenses included non-delivered merchandise and/or payment at 19.9%, identity theft, 14.1%, credit card fraud, 10.4%, auction fraud, 10.3%, and computer fraud, 7.9%.

One popular scam was a phone pitch made by someone sounding like President Barack Obama, encouraging people to visit a website for government stimulus money. Those who visited and paid the $28 in fees after handing over their personal information did not get the promised stimulus check. Another commonly reported scam was fake pop-up ads for malicious anti-virus software. Victims receive ads warning them of threatening viruses on their computer that end up downloading malicious code to their computer after clicking.

Over 86.7% of complaints reported to law enforcement showed a loss of $5,000 or less. The median dollar loss was $575. More than half of the complaints came from males, and 92% came from the United States.  Anyone who uses the internet can be a victim of cybercrime.  Tizer Secure™ offers internet security protection to help keep your personal information safe.

The full internet crime report can be found here.

Apple’s iPad is scheduled to hit stores April 3, 2010. Social media users need to be cautious and watch for “free iPad” offers circling around. Scammers are using this new product release to confiscate personal information. The scam claims to offer you a free iPad (or to be a beta tester), but requires a credit card number and cell phone number. Social media users are even encouraged to invite their friends to the fake pages to increase their chances of being selected to try the iPad. It signs you up for a cell phone service, and you will start being billed $10 per week.

Expect these scams to circulate not only through social media, but through email and normal search engines. Be cautious when you see anything offered for free, especially if it’s a new product. If something sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

Reports say hackers are using the story of the killer whale that killed Dawn Brancheau, a US SeaWorld trainer, to try to infect computers and steal people’s credit card information. Hackers have taken the opportunity to use our internet curiosity against us. They have created webpages that supposedly contain video footage of the tragedy showing the killer whale Tilikum. Searching for terms such as “killer whale video pictures” and “Dawn Brancheau video” will lead to malicious search results. After clicking on a link, website visitors get a fake antivirus alert. They are told there is a security problem on their computer, and are urged to download the antimalware program. The visitor is then prompted for their credit card details, and this alert is hard to remove and will often freeze up a computer.

It is horrible that hackers would try to profit from the death of an innocent woman. She definitely didn’t deserve this, but why are so many people drawn to see such horrible footage? Perhaps the malicious hackers thought they were targeting people who wanted to see a gruesome video and deserved something to happen to them. Be sure to go to established news sites if you want to get information on events.

The number of attacks on corporations is so large and their sophisitcation so great. Many organizations have trouble determining which threats post the grestest risk. New ways to conduct internet fraud are constantly unleashed.

A research study shows exactly what CEO’s perceptions of threats are.

• 82% reported their organization had suffered a breach
• 50% reported attacks occur on a daily or hourly basis
• 48% believe their organizations are rarely attacked
• 68% consider the CIO responsible for information security
• 24% of other C-level executives consider the CIO responsible for information security
• 64% of executives believe their organizations will be breached in the next 12 months

Internet security should be a top priority. Organized crime is on the rise, as we saw with the discovery of 75,000 corporate computers worldwide hacked by the Kneber BotNet. Social networks and applications being hosted as services online are opportunities for hackers to attack. Internet security is a global concern, as the number of websites tampered exceeded 42,000 in 2009. 50% of CEOs reporting attacks are occurring on a daily or hourly basis is something to be concerned about.