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Easter Bunny delivers basket of malware

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: -Computer users around the world received phony Easter greetings with links to malware on Monday, according to research by McAfee Labs.

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Cybercrooks often take advantage of current events to grab computer users’ attention, and this time they are using the upcoming Christian holiday to distribute dangerous emails with links to a password-stealing program, a release said.

One email appears to be a typical e-card with a colorful image of a bunny, chicks and eggs. A message invites you to “Download Animated Greeting Here.” If you click on the link or image, it installs malware onto your machine that can steal passwords and other sensitive information, as well as give control of your machine to the attacker, McAfee Labs has cautioned.

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The Scam:

Ø  Phony Holiday Greeting–In the Easter scam mentioned, you receive a spam email with a message like “Easter Greetings from Alex,” or the attacker might use another common name. The scammers are betting that you know someone with this name and are more likely to open it. Once you open the message, it looks like a regular e-card with Easter images. We see similar scams at Christmas and Valentine’s Day, when computer users are looking forward to receiving messages from loved ones, and let their guard down, only to accidentally download malware.

Ø  The Dangerous Download–An essential part of this scam is that the recipient has to be lured into clicking on an image, link or attachment to download the malware. In the Easter version of the scam, you are invited to download an animated version of the e-card.

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Ø  The Infection–Once you click on the dangerous link, image or attachment, malware downloads on your machine. The malware can do anything from steal passwords to allow the attacker to control your machine remotely.

The Dangers: You could have your passwords and sensitive information stolen, and your computer could be damaged.

Bottom Line: Avoid opening any spam email, especially if it mentions an upcoming holiday or current event.

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