14 DAY TRIAL // Christmas is almost here and everybody waits for Santa and his presents. But instead of receiving gifts, we'll surely get some spam. And I can bet this will happen. Because the hackers can't wait to launch their attacks concerning special Christmas offerings meant to get users on infected pages and harm their computers. The experts predicted a busy Christmas season, when it came to computer security and urged the users to update their security technologies, in order to be sure nobody would manage to harm their files. For example, IBM Corp. security executive, Christopher Rouland, said that users would receive tons of spam containing price cuts and coupons, but they should ignore all the suspect messages.
"That 50 per cent off, one-use coupon could go to a compromised computer in Kazakhstan. The quality of malware is very high," Mc. Rouland told CBC News. "The scammers are getting more and more sophisticated. They're using better English, they're getting better at copying real sites and making their site look like the real thing," Brian Trombley, a security expert working at McAfee, added.
A few days ago, F-Secure discovered the first Christmas threat to our computers. It was an ecard attempting to infect readers' systems, with a backdoor used for deploying other infections. Most antiviruses were able to block the file, but the unprotected users were put at risk. And they could be infected without any sign: a nice Christmas greeting was opened while the backdoor was executed in the background.
Keep in mind that Christmas is the gift season when everybody goes out for buying presents. Obviously, the online shops have already revealed special prices and bonuses so numerous that consumers will go online just for shopping. That's why it's extremely important to avoid publishing your information on unknown or suspect websites, which could attempt to get your bank details and steal your money. A phishing attempt can always be detected by analyzing the URL address displayed in your browser.