14 DAY TRIAL // Security researchers warn that searching for information on Daylight Saving Time (DST) can lead to FAKEAV websites. Similarly, search results from Corey Haim's untimely death have been poisoned with malicious links.
Daylight Saving Time (DST), also referred to as summer time, involves advancing the clock by one hour in order to extend daylight in the afternoon. The concept is practiced by less than half of the world, particularly in regions at high latitudes.
In the countries where DST is used, including most of Europe and North America, the clock is adjusted forward in spring and backward in autumn. This year, summertime officially started yesterday, March 14, at 2:00 am.
It is customary for the event to generate a fair amount of search engine traffic every year, with people searching online for information to help them set their clocks properly or to simply remind themselves of the reasons for it. However, the Vietnamese antivirus vendor Bach Khoa Internetwork Security (Bkis) warns that search keywords such as "Day Light Savings 2010" have been targeted by scareware pushers in their latest black hat search engine optimization (BHSEO) campaigns.
Unfortunate users who click on malicious links returned as search results for this query are subjected to a silent test that determines their operating system. Based on the result of this check, they are redirected to a landing page mimicking the look and feel of the "My Computer" window on their PC.
An image depicting a malware scan is being displayed encouraging users to download a fake antivirus product in order to clean fictitious infections. The purpose of this software is to scare users into paying for a useless license, compromising their credit card details in the process.
Meanwhile, researchers from security vendors Trend Micro and Websense, independently warn of similar schemes targeting the death of Canadian actor and former teen idol Corey Haim, which occurred earlier last week. Unfortunately, celebrity deaths have become common themes for BHSEO campaigns, as they always attract interest from Internet users.