Spyware ID theft ring

[unixronin]

eWeek reports discovery of a massive ID theft ring powered by CoolWebSearch.  Yeah, only Windows is vulnerable -- anyone surprised?  ....No?  Didn't think so.  Why people put up with this shit is beyond me, let alone why people who surely KNOW how dangerous it is running around out there with an insecure OS will still just click on this shit and install it with no idea what it's actually doing and in the knowledge that they have no way to find out.  Sometimes I wish one of these crooks would come along and clean out forty million people's bank accounts, just because I can't help but think it'll take something on that scale to get people's attention.

Trend Micro has a free online scanner that will detect and remove CoolWebSearch.  Then again, anyone stupid enough to install a piece of untrusted code like that in this day and age probably isn't reading, or paying any attention to, this anyway.

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Footnote:  I don't particularly wish Microsoft would crash and burn.  I don't particularly wish Windows would dry up and blow away in the wind.  Not only are Unix and the Mac not for everyone, but a monoculture of ANYTHING is a bad.  I just wish Microsoft would start taking security seriously and actually make a real effort to make Windows secure.  I've heard some intimations Longhorn Vista may finally make some progress in that direction, provided that doesn't get dropped before release as well.

Comments

[yndy.livejournal.com]

as I said, it was simplified - but I'm not going to go track it down - suffice to say I disagree with you.
But then, I've also met the guy that has pwned *every* major (and most minor) ISPs by knowing inherent UNIX flaws (he goes to defcon every year)... there is no such thing as a "safe" computer that connects to the internet... just "safer"