Online videos 'could contain malware'

A recent security report has warned that online videos could be disguising viruses and malware which could infect one's computer.

Research from the Georgia Tech Information Security Center found that hackers are finding new means of disguising damaging software and that putting it in online videos is becoming a favored method. Criminals are also using text-based messages and PDF files to disguise viruses, the security report stated.

Chris Rouland, the chief technology officer for IBM's internet security systems unit and a part of the group that drafted the report, commented: "Just as we see an evolution in messaging, we also see an evolution in threats. "As companies have gotten better blocking e-mails, we see people move to more creative techniques."

Media players are simply "the next logical step" for cyber criminals to take to infect victims' PCs, he added. Meanwhile, MessageLabs Intelligence recently reported that the month of September saw a substantial rise in the number of phishing attacks.

Nigerian Scam Cons Man Out Of $1.5 million

A trusting Australian man has been scammed out of $1.5 million through email, it has been reported.

Dutch police have arrested six men in the matter. The 49-year-old man was allegedly promised a share of a $90 million business in return for his money. Of the men arrested, five hail from west Africa, with two using Nigeria as their base of operations.

This method is known as a 419 scam, in reference to the section of the Nigerian penal code that practitioners are charged under. Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at Sophos, said: "Police in The Netherlands have been particularly active in tracking down the perpetrators of 419 scams and there have been a number of arrests in the last year or so.

"What may stagger the average man in the street is just how much money can be made by the criminal gangs behind these international con-tricks." A surprising amount of people actually fall for the scams and many are too embarrassed to report their naivety, added Mr Cluley. This kind of scam is also known as advance fee fraud.

Consumers 'lose billions' to phishing

American internet users have lost at least $7 billion over the last two years to phishing, spyware and viruses, according to a new report from research company Consumer Reports.

The latest State of the Net survey from the company showed that internet users stand a one in four chance of becoming a victim of an online scam. Approximately eight per cent of consumers fall victim to phishing scams, a number that has remained constant over the last few years. The survey also monitored how damaging viruses have been to users of the internet. A full 1.8 million households have had to replace their PCs in the past two years because they were infected with a virus.

And 850,000 households had to purchase a new computer because of spyware infections in the last six months. However, the amount of spam mail being reported had dipped slightly, which the report attributed to better spam-blocking software. In related news, recently an Australian man was scammed out of $1.5 million through email, it has been reported.