botnet

14 Stories

Don't Worry, Your Smart Toothbrush Didn't Get Hacked

A viral story claiming 3M toothbrushes were breached appears to have been a translation miscue

(Newser) - If someone recently forwarded you an article saying your smart toothbrush was hacked, you are far from alone in a story that grew and stuck like ... plaque? First off, no, your toothbrush was not hacked. Second, many got this one wrong, including news outlets that published retractions following what Wired ...

Microsoft Goes After One of World's Biggest Botnets

Trickbot seen as a threat to the November election

(Newser) - Microsoft announced legal action Monday seeking to disrupt the cybercrime digital network known as Trickbot, which is seen as a major threat to the US presidential election, per the AP . The Washington Post calls it one of the world's biggest botnets, one with the potential to gum up state...

Microsoft Attacks 'Army of Zombie Computers'

Cut connections of botnet netting criminals $2.7M per month

(Newser) - A major hacking operation involving a worldwide "army of zombie computers" hit a snag yesterday when the FBI, Europol, and Microsoft teamed up to shut it down. A months-long investigation by Microsoft found the ZeroAccess botnet infecting some 2 million computers with malware that generated bogus clicks on ads,...

Hackers Post 2M Facebook, Google, Yahoo Passwords

Most common one? '123456'

(Newser) - Some 2 million user credentials for Facebook and other top services have appeared on a Russian-language website, likely thanks to malware installed on users' computers, experts tell the BBC . They believe a crime ring was probably behind the dump, which claimed to include 318,121 Facebook usernames and passwords, along...

Trojan Virus Has Infected 600K Macs, Firm Claims

Virus may allow hackers to create 'botnet' from infected machines

(Newser) - Are you a smug Mac user who assumes you can't possibly get a virus? Well, think again. A Russian anti-virus firm believes that about 600,000 Macs around the world have been infected with the Flashback Trojan virus—and about half of those are expected to be in the...

Spam Levels Plummet Worldwide
Spam Levels
Plummet Worldwide
Jan 7, 2011 11:46 AM CST

Spam Levels Plummet Worldwide

Spam down to a quarter of August levels as botnets go quiet

(Newser) - Along with assorted wildlife, there appears to have been a mass die-off of something else: spam emails. Spam levels, which had been dropping steadily since August, plummeted rapidly in late December, reports the BBC . Some 200 billion spam messages were being sent every day in August, but just 50 billion...

FBI: Botnet Mastermind Nabbed
 FBI: Botnet Mastermind Nabbed 

Jul 28, 2010 4:45 AM CDT

FBI: Botnet Mastermind Nabbed

Slovenian accused of creating Mariposa malware

(Newser) - A hacker responsible for hijacking more than 10 million computers around the world has been arrested in Slovenia after a major international investigation, the FBI says. The 23-year-old hacker, known as "Iserdo," is accused of masterminding a scam in which the Mariposa "botnet" network infected computers belonging...

Conficker Worm's Still Out There ... Doing Nothing

(Newser) - An April Fools information apocalypse did not occur, but the widespread Conficker virus that caused so much fear of is still out there, CNN reports. Experts are puzzled over the lack of an attack, but the sheer size of the Conficker infection—5 million computers—yields a clue. “The...

Experts: Apple's First Worm Nothing to Fret About

'Groundbreaking' Mac virus only affects a few thousand users

(Newser) - Malware that hijacks Macs has shown up for the first time, but it shouldn't be cause for panic, an expert tells the Globe & Mail. The malware, nicknamed iBotNet, only affects a few thousand users who downloaded a pirated copy of iWork and it's not spreading from computer to computer,...

Conficker Worm Date Passes Quietly—So Far

Experts warn megavirus could still pose a serious threat

(Newser) - The Conficker worm came to life on its April 1 trigger date but failed to cause any major incidents—so far, Infoworld reports. Fears that the internet itself might be affected have yet to materialize, though experts warn that the malware—estimated to be lying in wait in 10 million...

Worm Set to Unleash Massive April Fool's Prank

Malware experts race against time to limit the program's damage

(Newser) - Malware experts are racing to find the authors of the Conficker C worm and limit the damage it seems poised to do beginning April Fool’s Day, CNN reports. Conficker C, the bug’s third iteration since late 2008, has infected between 5 and 10 million computers but so far...

Computer Experts: The Bad Guys Are Winning

Security researchers outflanked by well-funded cybercriminals

(Newser) - There's a war on for your computer and the bad guys are winning, the New York Times reports. Malware that stealthily hijacks a computer to send more malware is spreading like wildfire, and efforts to battle the constantly evolving threat often amount to little more than a game of online...

Spammers Bounce Back After Host Shutdown

Zombie spam-sending computers reactivated from foreign ISPs

(Newser) - Spammers are surging back onto the Internet again, 2 weeks after being dealt a body blow by a server shutdown, CNET News reports. Spam volumes dived 80% after the California-based McColo hosting firm was pulled offline. They remained flat until a few days ago but have now risen to around...

Teen Nabbed for $26M 'Net Heist
Teen Nabbed for $26M
'Net Heist
Dec 1, 2007 5:39 PM CST

Teen Nabbed for $26M 'Net Heist

18-year-old Kiwi's ring robbed IDs with 'spybot' program

(Newser) - The computer ace behind a $26 million worldwide identity theft heist is only 18, police said today, after nabbing New Zealander Owen Whyte. The teen allegedly wrote a ‘spybot’ program which stole financial data from more than a million computers. Police called him “one of the most skilled...

14 Stories
Most Read on Newser