Spammers Launch Dangerous New Attack
Spammers never seem to quit do they? They’ve launched a brand new wave of PDF spam. You may remember getting hit with a flurry of spam emails earlier this summer, all with PDF attachments. Those spammed a variety of penny stocks and were irritating, but harmless. Not so this new attack. This time the attachments harbor malware. Opening them exploits a vulnerability in Adobe Reader that allows the malware to disable Windows Firewall, connect to a server overseas, and download a Trojan horse. Experts think this may be another version of the Storm worm that ran rampant across the Internet earlier this year. The goal seems to be to create a botnet, which is a network of infected computers that spammers and hackers are able to control. 
It’s estimated that at least 1 million computers are already in an existing botnet created by the earlier Storm worm. It’s not yet known who exactly is behind the Storm worm or what the botnet will be used for, but the implications are frightening. Botnets can be used to send tens of thousands of spam messages, launch denial of service attacks on websites, and more. Moral of the story? If you get an email with a PDF attachment from someone you don’t know, delete it! The current subject lines promise free credit reports or claim to provide banking information. Don’t fall for it! Make sure your anti-virus software is updated and if your ISP offers spam filtering, and most do-use it. A spammer’s biggest enemy is an educated computer user!
spam, pdf spam, malware, computers, adobe
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