Switchfast Blog - The Future of IT
Beware Keylogging: The Latest Phishing Fad
Friday, October 09, 2009 by Michael Holley
BBC reports a massive worldwide keylogging scam
that is affecting users of Hotmail, Yahoo, and GMail email
accounts. Some believe that the list of users affected may be
related to the list of leaked email addresses that has been in the news lately.
This scam appears to be self-propagating in that it includes
malware that sends spam email to members of affected users' contact
databases. Users of Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, and AOL accounts are
advised to check their sent messages for spam emails regularly over
the next few weeks.
If you suspect you are infected, change your password
from a different computer and update your
antivirus software immediately. Keylogging scams are different from
traditional phishing scams because they rely on malware to record
your keystrokes. Therefore, if you type your new password anywhere
on your computer while you're infected, you'll just be revealing it
to whoever is stealing your data.
If in doubt, contact an outside firm (like us) to remove the
malware. If a keylogger can get your email password, he or she can
get your banking password as well. Uncertainty is absolutely not
worth the risk in this case.
Best,
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support
& Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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