OT - Caution Fake YouTube pages used to spread viruses - Page 1

 Fake YouTube pages used to spread viruses

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Savvy Internet users know that downloading unsolicited computer programs is one of the most dangerous things you can do online. It puts you at great risk for a virus or another time bomb from a hacker.

But even some sophisticated surfers could get taken in by a sneaky new attack in which criminals create fake YouTube pages - dead-on replicas of the real site - to push their malicious software and make it look like it's safe stuff coming from a trusted source.

A program circulating online helps hackers build those fake pages. Users who follow an e-mail pointing them to one of the pages would see an error message that claims the video they want won't play without installing new software first. That error message includes a link the hacker has provided to a malicious program, which delivers a virus.

Even worse: once the computer is infected, it's simple for the hacker to silently redirect the victims to a real YouTube page to see videos they were hoping to see - and hide the crime.

"It's spot-on accurate, and that is scary," said Jamz Yaneza, threat research manager for security software company Trend Micro Inc. "If I were watching YouTube videos all day I would probably click on this one."

The tactic itself isn't

Thanks for the heads up Hodie.

Hi Preston,

You are welcome. The article appears on www.excite.com. It was apparently too large to post completely, but it is of interest to all who regularly look at sites like YouTube.

This happened to me a few weeks ago. Someone hacked my facebook account and sent "videos" to every person on my list. Many had dirty titles, or just weird titles.  And a lot of people got viruses from them, and I clicked to see what it was before I knew.....and well, it did a number on the computer.

You never open e-mail from anyone you do not know, and you would never follow a link or download anything from an e-mail.  Don't open attachment's, don't respond to mass mailing's, and write down e-mail address's instead of storing them in your system.

You never opt to download anything online that is offered to you, not even an update for a program you already have.  If you need something go to the source to download it.

Most of the website's you trust bite into your system a little including this one.   Just watch the ad's sometime.

Using Google is probably one of the worst thing's you can do if you value your privacy, all search engine's now keep file's on user's activities and they market this information.   Hell Google give's some of it up for free to government's and so called law enforcement agency's.

Virus scan companies are basicly blackmailing you but if you don't pay you will suffer greater loss's.  It's a racket and always has been from the beginning.   I remember when they didn't exist at all, back in the day before the internet became a toy.

Most people already have spyware running on their computer's and don't know it.   They don't want to crash your system, they want to track your activities for monitary purpose's.  Your information is worth money.  Foriegn country's are some of the worst hacker's and China is at the top of the list, it's a long list too.

There is nothing private or secure on the internet period.   Especially e-mail, message board's, chatroom's and online purchasing  (Ebay),  also online banking.

My Space, Facebook?    Please........... No security what so ever.

Watch your back!!    And what you do online.

Very good post, two moons.  Remember, the internet was started by military intel as the largest spy op ever (Darpa & Saic).  Everybody who uses it and all their searches and site visists and emails are "matrixed" using complex regression analysis, and are ranked and rated for risk (complex algorythyms are used).  The ISPs roll over and allow gov't connections with nary a concern. Of course when "fincen" or your local "fusion center" wants to check out a citizen, they can run a matrix on that citizen in a microsecond and know darned near everything they want to know about that citizen. Each person and all their main contacts are rated for risk by a color system just like the gov't terror warning color warnings.  You get the idea.

It has been very expensive to set up and operate the internet and folks wouldn't use it if normal fees were charged.  It has been rumored for years that some of the operating costs come from deep black ops including narcotrafficking money.  It has also been rumored from several very good inside sources that there were several "trojan horse" capabilities set up by the select software geniuses at the top in order to provide blowback and lay the seeds for the emergence of new mass behavior which will fight institutional corruption and break down the existing corporate int'l banking power structure.  Over time we shall see if this works.  I think the current gov't attempts to regulate the internet and create a second tier, controlled pay internet suggests that the trojan horse is working at least somewhat and that there is some blowback on behalf of the common user.

Of course, intel has many other ways to collect data on citizens.  Any electronic phone can be turned on and used as a microphone to listen in on what is being said in any room where the phone is.  Ever get a phone call that rings once and nobody is there.  This is part of the calibration set up process.  Cable tv and satellite tv boxes?   Many of these record your viewing data and send it back via your phone lines to be sold to rating companies.  Might some of these cable and satelliote boxes contain electronics for other functions??? Without a doubt.  An acquaintance of mine went to a invitaion only "seminar" a few years ago where companies supplying intel agnecies were present and showed him small computer sized equipment that can read your harddrive from up to 300 feet away from a van or automobile.  He also saw $30,000 laser systems which can be used to pick up sounds of folks speaking off any window up to 1 mile away. Home wiring and utilities can be taken over and used in ways that you would never imagine.  Sometimes when they are doing road or utility work outside on your street or down the block, they are also doing other things too!Now this is the low grade stuff, just wait till you find out about our gov't's spy satellite capabilities some day.

The proof is right in front of you,  an ad I see for the first time at the top of the page today.

Defender anti spyware  (Cyber-Defender.com), you don't think they are watching every word you type?

The main reason the government turned the internet over to public use was because they new they could not keep it secure.   And now that the system is in private hand's it is even more corruptable by powerful people with the fund's to buy information.

The second reason was to use it as a trap to observe the rest of us. 

They now use a dedicated system of their own and have to use encryption's that are constantly changing to fend off possible penetration from Foriegn power's.    It's like an ongoing game of chess spying on each other.

The capabilities of their satellite's would freak out the rest of the world more so than us.

And even before 9/11 they have been using it on us as well as the rest of the world.

Orwell had it right.