Firefox users warned for fake scareware campaign

BANGALORE, INDIA: IT security and data protection firm, Sophos has warned people to be vigilant, following the discovery of an advanced 'scareware' campaign in Mozilla Firefox.

The campaign presents users of Firefox with fake warnings that are designed to scare them into believing their computer is infected said a press release.

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The release further added, Mozilla Firefox users may see a genuine-looking 'Firefox security alert', which displays a convincing system scan, including a progress bar and the names of malware supposedly found in files on the victim's machine - all lending to the credibility of the attack as a way to frighten computer users into parting with cash to clean up non-existent malware infections.

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"Taking advantage of detailed information about the person's computer and software allows for a much more specific, believable social engineering attempt," said Chester Wisniewski, senior security advisor at Sophos.

"We are likely to continue to see these criminals targeting each operating system, browser and any other details that can be gleaned from HTTP requests sent from our devices," added Wisniewski.

Scareware, or fake anti-virus attacks prey on IT security fears and fool users into believing their computer has a problem when it does not.

Typically, scareware is planted on websites in the form of pop-up advertisements or disguised downloads, added the release.