Most of the early Internet malware were simple programs created by bored amateurs. But it's not 1999 anymore. As the Internet has grown more sophisticated, so has malware. A new report from Kaspersky labs dissects what could be the most sophisticated malware yet discovered in the wild.

The software, dubbed Careto, is a sophisticated suite of tools for compromising computers and collecting a wealth of information from them. Whoever is behind the malware sends out "spear phishing" e-mails, with addresses designed to be mistaken for the Web sites of mainstream newspapers, such as The Washington Post or the Guardian. If the user clicks on a link, it takes her to a Web site that scans her system for vulnerabilities and attempts to infect it. There are multiple versions of the malicious software designed to attack Windows, Mac OS X and Linux versions, and Kapersky believes there may be versions that attack iOS and Android.

Once Careto has compromised a system, it begins collecting sensitive information from it. The software can "intercept network traffic, keystrokes, Skype conversations, analyse WiFi traffic, PGP keys, fetch all information from Nokia devices, screen captures and monitor all file operations."

It can also capture any encryption keys found on the machine, which can help launch attacks against other machines. The software has a plug-in architecture, allowing the attacker to dynamically load new software to perform tasks such as monitoring keystrokes or capturing the victim's email.

NSA?



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/02/10/this-malware-is-frighteningly-sophisticated-and-we-dont-know-who-created-it/

Sounds like a malicious little devil.

Chinese?

could be... i always thought the antivirus companies made them and sold them...

too bad

NSA? Chinese? You ask. Why not Mossad? Oh, I forgot, we don't question Israel!

Probably all three of them,and add a few more!

Hell, Windoze updates on your computer do that and more already! Only a fool uses "automatic" or "recommended" updates and "tool bars"!

And anyone who uses Google Chrome..... sux 2 b U! Welcome to the wonderful world of "Conduit"! It should read "Conned you into it!"!

Run "Malwarebytes" (the BEST free virus removal program) in safe mode if you don't believe me........

I recommend Firefox for your browser and using the "ghostery" add-on...... you'll be surprised who has access to your computer!

Got that right!

I don't know enough about updates and all the computer stuff.

Guess, next one I get I'll have to do the manual updates.

Firefox updated just a few days ago and now, it won't load pages. Chrome has spell check, IE, Ii can't figure out how to work spell check.


What can I do to clean out 12 years of garbage infiltration?

Are there any malware programs that will detect an invasion attempt?

I have avast and AVG. The free versions.

msg me Will, I'll help you get er fixed up

Never run 2 anti-virus programs at once....it causes PC conflicts

Avast is the best one, remove AVG....back it up with Malwarebytes. Things should work better in that regard.

CCCleaner is a good free program for cleaning your registry and a monthly defrag of your harddrive never hurts

There isn't an anti-virus program out there that "works" these days on the new viruses....sad but true. Malwarebytes will remove what does make it past whatever you are running.

Many swear by Norton, but all Norton does any more is steal system resources and slow your PC down by about 1/2....waste of money!

McAfee is a joke, Kaspersky is ok, but it too slows your PC way down.

There's a lot of AVs on the market, most work as well as any other. That being the case I recommend the free version of Avast or AVG w/Malwarebytes as backup to all my customers, and they all thank me for it saying it works much better now.

Avast has a feature called Sandboxy (sp) that opens an executable to a sandbox before it loads to your PC..... nice function!

Malwarebytes has a paid version that runs hueristicly (like a full time AV) that I do recommend over anything else on the retail market.

Free Malwarebytes is good. You have to update it yourself though.

It tells you to update every time you run it if new definitions are available.... but it does need to be run often these days, and that is the key.... to use it often!

I installed the ghostery in both Chrome and Firefaox. Firefox is still slow to nothing.

ghostery shows many attempts being blocked.

Google chrome has 61 malware embedded on install, the toolbar adds more and opens all ports (back doors) on your PC for adware vendors.... all those spam emailers and phone calls that seem to know exactly what you're looking for and when.

Conduit says it protects you, but then so does the NSA.......