Safe haven for hackers

NEW

DELHI: Websense, Inc., an employee Internet management solutions provider, today
announced that hackers are increasingly exploiting free personal web hosting

sites.






Such web-hosting sites facilitate affordable and anonymous ways to store and
disseminate mobile malicious code (MMC) and dangerous types of spyware, the

company said in a press release.






In the first two weeks of July 2005 alone, Websense Security Labs has
discovered more than 500 incidents of free web hosting sites that were created

to spread keyloggers, Trojan horse downloaders, Trojan horse droppers, and

other harmful spyware and malware.






Earlier this year, Websense reported that free blogging accounts were being
used to harbor malcode. This trend is now expanding to any form of free web

hosting site.






“The growth of this trend is alarming. July has seen a major boom - in the
first two weeks alone we found more instances than in May and June combined,”

said Dan Hubbard, senior director of security and technology research for

Websense.






“Some of the sites may be created with automated shared hacking software and
free online tools, while others are built to appear more legitimate. For

example, one of the sites found by the Labs included music that accompanied a

greeting-card message which runs while your computer is being infected with

spyware.”






These fraudulent, free personal websites have an average lifespan of two to
four days, making them difficult to trace. In addition, a majority of the new

sites discovered by Websense have been hosted in Brazil or the United Kingdom

and contain text written in Portuguese and English.