Facebook Password reset scam is Bredolab botnet attack

Virus hunters are raising the alarm for a large-scale spam attack that uses fake Facebook password-reset messages to trick PC users into downloading a dangerous piece of malware.

The malicious executable is linked to the Bredolab botnet, which has been linked to massive spam runs and identity-theft related attacks.

According to Websense, the address of the sender is spoofed to display “support@facebook.com,” a trick commonly used to trick targets into believing it’s a legitimate e-mail from the popular social network.

The messages contain a .zip file attachment with an .exe file that connects to two servers to download additional malicious files and joins the Bredolab botnet which means the attackers have full control of the PC, such as steal customer information, send spam emails. One of the servers is in the Netherlands and the other one in Kazakhstan.

Digital Signatures - Lily pads

Digital signatures

One way of obtaining proof of identity is to use digital pads that capture people's signatures.

These pads capture not only the shape of the mark, but also the speed at which it was written and the pressure applied at different points.

Songhua Xu at Zhejiang University, China, and colleagues at the University of Hong Kong have developed a way to digest that information into a digital "lily", to allow quick but robust comparisons.

(Image: Songhua Xu)

San Francisco: One of the Worst Cities in the US

San Francisco, Calif.

San Francisco is officially one the worst cities in the US for finding and keeping IT work. Its a haven for IT geeks and tech companies but it also offers insanely high real estate prices, suicide-inducing traffic and too many cocky and annoying IT people fighting over precious jobs. (Are there any other kinds?)

San Francisco also claims the No. 1 spot for worst cities in US for identify theft, or "iJacking."

Regardless of their location, however, my fellow bloggers don't seem either alarmed or elated about these findings. Perhaps this insouciance (10 point word score), like the very inclusion of iJacking in such rankings, is simply a sign of the times. Discuss!