14 DAY TRIAL // It’s not uncommon for us to find shady websites that replicate the ones of the BBC, or Channel 5 News in an attempt to advertise fake work-from-home jobs. However, it’s somewhat unusual to find such sites that bring something extra, such as the Blackhole exploit kit and a nasty Trojan.
The domain in question, bbcmoneynews.com, displays a phony story about the single mom who makes thousands of dollars each month from the comfort of her own home.
But unlike other similar sites, this one also contains a version of the infamous exploit kit identified as Exploit.JS.Blacole.cd, and a malicious Java applet detected as Trojan.Java.Generic, GFI informs.
This particular variant of Blackhole is designed to exploit vulnerabilities in products such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Acrobat, and Internet Explorer.
If these security holes are exploited successfully, Trojans such as Zbot, Sirefef, and Fareit are downloaded, along with other exploits served via the flaws in Adobe Acrobat.
By now, most internauts are aware of the fact that work-from-home jobs advertised on shady websites should be avoided. It’s clear that they’re simply part of a scheme in which cybercrooks earn money by requesting advance payments from “future employees.”
However, in this particular case, everything gets complicated because of the malicious elements. That is why users must follow a few simple steps in order to avoid ending up with a malware-infested computer.
First of all, the operating system and every single application must be kept updated at all times. The most critical pieces of software are usually Microsoft Office, Flash, Adobe Acrobat and Reader, and Java.
Also, make sure to use an antivirus application. Modern security solutions can identify signs of a malicious plot even in case new threat variants are utilized, because they don’t rely only on signatures, but also on behavior.