Posted by Virus Bulletin on Aug 6, 2010
'Cracked' versions of free software used to spread malware
In a new malware campaign, users are told they can download a free crack of the Firefox 4 browser, only to find themselves infected with trojans.
The lure of 'free' has made many a user browse the more dodgy parts of the internet, where crooks are eagerly waiting to infect their computers with malware. Cracked versions of commercial software more often than not contain malware and in many cases not even the real software itself. Apart from legal and moral considerations, users should be wary that cracked software is likely to contain unwanted extras.
What makes this case interesting is that Firefox 4, the new version of the popular browser which was released as a beta last month, is available for free from Mozilla's website; downloading a crack is thus totally pointless. It is thus not surprising that it is dangerous too and researchers at Sunbelt found at least five different pieces of malware in the download.
More at Sunbelt's blog here with not-so-subtle comments from The Register here.
Posted on 06 August 2010 by Virus Bulletin
