14 DAY TRIAL // Today's attackers are smart. That's for sure! Or at least, they are up-to-date with the latest world news and try to adapt their malicious attempts to the hottest topics. And it happened again yesterday. According to Adam Thomas of Sunbelt, the attackers managed to obtain high Google PageRanks and every time a user searches the web for "Zoey Zane," they will reach several malicious pages. Those websites are especially modified by the attackers in order to contain malware or Trojan horses, which would provide them full control over an affected system. The websites claim they offer Zoey Zane videos, but once the pages are fully loaded, they ask the users to install a special codec. Obviously, this is the way to deploy the infection on your computer and to get control over the system.
The Sunbelt official said that the malicious websites usually displayed an "ActiveX upgrade" or a "Flash Player" notification, in a move meant to trick the users into downloading the infection. "Critical System Warning!" the titlebar of an error reads. "Your system is probably infected with latest version of Trojan.Zlob-X.a. Full system optimization will greatly increase you computer's performance. Click OK to download antispyware software! (Recommended)," the message adds.
"In actuality, this "ActiveX video decoder" or "Flash Player Upgrade" is a Trojan that install a Browser Helper Object (BHO) which produces fake pop-up messages and modifies search engine results in an attempt to install the Rogue Software IE Defender," Adam Thomas noted.
Sure, you can always remain secure by updating your antivirus technology to the latest version and by installing the newest virus definition in order to detect the threats. In addition, you should avoid visiting dangerous websites that come from unknown persons, as they might be infected with malware. Also, analyze the Google results before clicking on them, although I suppose the Mountain View company will remove the dangerous ones as soon as possible.