Researchers have discovered that a Russian gang is conducting a check counterfeiting operation using money mules and the Zeus botnet. The botnet was used to pump out spam advertising lucrative sounding ads advertising “payment processor” jobs, harvest email addresses from job search sites like Monster and Careerbuilder, steal check images from sites that store them more »

Malware is absolutely everywhere these days. Even if you do all the right things like not clicking on links or opening attachments in emails, avoiding bittorents, porn sites and illegal download sites like Limewire (which is full of malware!), not clicking on pop up or banner ads, and being careful about what apps and notifications more »

Today let’s take a look at botnets. This is the tool of choice for spammers everywhere. A botnet is a collection of computers, known as zombies, that have been infected by malware. The malware enables the criminal in charge of the group, also known as the bot master, to control all the infected computers remotely. Botnets are used to send spam, conduct DDoS attacks and distribute even more malware. They range in size from tens of thousands to millions of zombies.

A botnet begins its life as a single or group of servers sending out malware. As more and more computers become infected with the malicious software, the botnet grows. Large botnets are capable of sending out billions of spam messages a day. Most advertise fake pharmaceuticals or porn sites. The infected computers are programmed to contact the control server at specific times to receive updates or new instructions.

When a large scale cyberattack began hitting the United States and South Korea over the July 4th weekend, the accusations and speculation regarding who was to blame began flying. South Korea insisted North Korea must be to blame. The U.S. wondered if it was the work of Russia or maybe China. Researchers claimed to have found the master control server in the U.K. So who is really to blame for the attack, which is still not over?

The botnet responsible for the ongoing DDoS attacks on many U.S. Government websites is getting even uglier. According to security researchers it has been programmed to turn on the computers it’s infected and encrypt and in some cases completely erase all their data. What’s particularly disturbing is that most Korean citizens have ignored the government’s more »

A Dallas security guard charged with hacking the computer system of the hospital he worked for was busted by a fellow hacker, but didn’t help his case when he posted videos of his exploits on YouTube. Jesse McGraw, known by the hacker name GhostExodus, posted videos to YouTube in which he claimed to be breaking more »

Spam levels have returned to the level they were at before the shutdown of nefarious ISP McColo, which was known for its acceptance of spammers and scammers as customers. After the shutdown, spam levels dropped an amazing 75%, largely in part because three botnets were cut off by it: Mega-D, Srizbi, and Rustock. Mega-D. At more »

A couple of Texas men forgot that handy tip and it cost them big. Darrrel and Jack Uselton were big time spammers in 2007, running a botnet that sent out millions of penny stock spams and raking in more than $4 million in the process. The SEC calls their particular pump and dump scheme “scalping.” That is, buying stock for yourself, recommending it others while posing as an expert, and then immediately selling the stock when the price rises as a result of your recommendation. That’s a big no no.

They might have actually gotten away with it had their spam not found its way into the inbox of a man who happened to be a lawyer for the SEC. The Useltons flooded this lawyer with their spam. Things went downhill from there. The SEC contacted the FBI and authorities in several states including Texas.