14 DAY TRIAL // After Microsoft announced yesterday that it managed to disrupt over 500 strains of malware as part of its efforts to fight against the Nitol botnet, company officials step back in front of the media to issue a new warning.
Several new computers, all of them found in Chinese factories, got infected even before reaching their new buyers, which obviously exposes buyers and their information to hackers across the globe.
As part of the Operation b70 campaign, Microsoft officials analyzed a total of 20 computers from different Chinese cities, not only to make sure they are clean, but also to find out whether they are running genuine software or not. A total of four computers were infected and each of them was running a counterfeit version of Windows.
This obviously makes an antivirus software a must-have, but what exactly does the Nitol malware mean?
Using a computer that has already been infected with Nitol is basically an open door to hackers that could collect almost any type of personal details from the system. Including online bank accounts, that is.
Nobody knows for sure how the virus managed to reach these fresh computers, but Richard Boscovich, a senior lawyer in Microsoft’s digital crimes unit, said in a blog post that people should always check the pre-installed software on their new systems.
“One sign is a deal that appears too good to be true. However, sometimes people just can’t tell, making the exploitation of a broken supply chain an especially dangerous vehicle for infecting people with malware,” he explained.
Other types of malware detected on the checked computers include viruses that automatically turn on the infected system's microphone or webcams, while special forms of malware can record absolutely every single keystroke and online bank accounts.