Today’s Top 7 Malware Threats

Here’s a look at what are considered the top 7 malware threats today, in order:

7. Koobface - This virus has been pounding the net, especially social networking sites, for quite a while now.  Upon infection it floods the user with rogue pop up ads and takes over the user’s email account, using it to send out links to itself and other malware. This could be a nightmare if one or more of the computers on your corporate network were to be infected. Malicious emails sent from your company’s domain would be a PR disaster.

6. DoubleD - This is adware that is often found bundled in with freeware or shareware or lurking on bittorents. It delivers rogue pop ups and hijacks the browser, redirecting it to spam and porn sites.  If your employees are allowed to install software (they probably shouldn’t be!) make sure to impress upon them the importance of downloading from legit sites and scanning files before installing them!

5. TDSServ - This is a popular rootkit used by hackers to conceal their malware.  It also scans the system for passwords and other personal info and sends them back to the hacker, and it can take over any email accounts found on the system and send out spam and copies of itself.

4.OnLineGames - This Trojan is actually a large family of Trojans that send themselves out via email spam. The messages try to entice the recipient to download the included attachment. One variant is focused on stealing passwords to accounts for popular online games such as World of Warcraft while another drops a keylogger and steals any kind of personal info it can find.

3. Dr. Guard - This is a member of the newest wave of malware, ransomware.  It masquerades as a fake anti-spyware program that pesters the user of the infected system, claiming it’s full of malware and only Dr. Guard can remove it – for a fee.

2. Vundo (Virtumondo) - This is another Trojan that delivers a fake anti-virus program and steals personal info and sends it back to the hacker.

1. MyWebSearch - This piece of malware has been around forever.  It comes with the widely advertised programs Smiley Center, Zwinkys, Cursor Mania and Webfetti.  Once installed, it adds a toolbar to the brower, delivers rogue pop ups and tracks the user’s web surfing. It’s also been known to hijack the browser to deliver even more ads.