Chinese E-Cards Just Like Fortune Cookies

In this case, you just might get yourself a nasty virus. Chinese authorities have announced that users should be wary of downloading virus-infected mooncake greeting cards as Reuters informs. Hackers just might take advantage of the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. This thing has happened last year too, on the same occasion. And this is certainly something that only happens in China. No way! Hackers take advantage of any possible situation to send infected spammy messages.

Of course, these e-cards are enjoyable and you do not need to ignore all of them, just because you think they might be malware touched. Just pay attention to what you download. If your e-mail client doesn't automatically scan files like Yahoo! does, for example, then be sure to scan the e-cards before you download them. You may never know from where a virus pops up, and instead of a nice mooncake e-card you end up with a Trojan, so please be careful.

Also, even if you are not living in China, you should be advised to be wary when you download an e-card. Malicious users such as the ones behind the Storm botnet have always used these things to trick gullible users into getting infected with a lot of viruses.

In case you're wondering what could happen to you if you get infected...well, there are 3 possible types of viruses that are usually sent via these e-mails. The most common ones are the mailer-bots and keyloggers. Then, there are viruses that may screw up you machine, but those are rather rare nowadays, as hackers are financially strived. And, so that you understand better - a mailer-bot will send spam to others using YOUR computer, while a keylogger will record anything that you type and send it to the hacker. Keyloggers are used for phishing data, fact which may result in you being a fraud victim.