Virus over Friendster

Just recently, I was talking about malicious software intruding computer systems, but I forgot to mention about viruses spreading through social web sites. As most of you may have checked your Friendster account, you could have been a victim of the comment with a girl and a webcam. For those who are interested, they may have clicked the link, and probably downloaded more nasty, evil, malicious scripts or executables without them knowing it!


This is an example of how viruses, trojans and spywares can get into your computer... scary eh? There's Facebook, Tag, Multiply... (and what else??)... and it is up to the operators of these social websites to ensure the security and 'cleanliness' of their servers.

Will the antivirus and antispyware and antitrojan software suffice? This is hard to say, as my PC is currently being invaded by an advertising malware. It is not so serious, only popping up an ad occasionally, and my antivirus would have detected and eliminated it after that. But makes me wonder, is the virus still residing in my PC, or did it come from Facebook, my company webmail server, or a drive-by-download by one of the websites that I have visited?

Food for thought, points to ponder...

2008, as I see it, is a time when cyber security has improved. Attacks of malware still continue, but controllable. I discovered that, searching of hackers tools and websites for malicious methods of attacks has not returned any results. I assume that the relevant parties has taken the steps to eliminate these threats.

What to expect during 2009? With the economic downturn, electronic manufacturers has been adversely affected. Companies are cutting down their expenses, and my guess is that the IT dept will be one the first. This, in turn, with the lack of security in Information Systems in the top management, may trigger the beginning of another wave
of attack in the near future, due to the lack of control and measurement that should be in place. These loopholes in the organization will be discovered, and will be a source for malicious activities.

The Internet has advanced in technology and methods. Web 2.0 (involving social networking and knowledge and resource sharing) and application sharing such as GoogleDocs - will it cause another virus outbreak, or another attack? Would the cyber space be another method of terrorism? hmm... a food for thought....

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