FileHippo News

The latest software and tech news

Programmer Claims Responsibility For Malware Used in Target Data Theft
A programmer from Saratov, Russia, has claimed responsibility for arming the Kaptoxa malware used to steal personal details of about 110 million customers of the US retail chain Target and other stores. In a recent interview with the Russian website lifenews.ru, Rinat Shabayev has admitted that he modified Kaptoxa (also known... Read more
ATM’s Robbed With USB
Researchers at the Chaos Communication Congress have said that Cash machines running Windows XP have been attacked.  It appears as though criminals have managed to steal money from cash machines earlier this year, using USB sticks and exploiting the security of Microsoft’s, now very old, Windows XP operating system. Researchers speaking... Read more
NSA Intercepted New Laptops to Install Spy Malware
Reports from Der Spiegel have suggested that the NSA’s elite hacking unit (TAO), has gone to serious lengths to spy on unsuspecting victims. The reports, which are based on internal NSA documents, indicate that shipping deliveries of laptops and other computer accessories, are regularly intercepted and implanted with bugs,... Read more
250K Devices Infected By Cryptolocker Ransomeware in UK Alone
A research team specialising in security has revealed that the form of Ransomeware, Cryptolocker, could have managed to infect anywhere between 200,000 to 250,000 devices and could also have collected over ÂŁ600,000 ($980,000, AU$1,000,000) in the virtual currency Bitcoin. Dell’s SecureWork’s specialist counter-threat unit has scrutinised the infection rates... Read more
Cross Platform Malware Increasing at Alarming Rate
As the advance of computer technology and its wide reaching applications continue to grow, unfortunately so do the threats.  The newest forms of malware have advanced and increased in adaptability and strengths; they attack without prejudice or warning and they have cross-platform power. The same strain of a particular... Read more
Pony Botnet Steals 2 Million Passwords
According to researchers at Spiderlabs, criminals have scooped up more than 2 million passwords for sites such as Facebook, Yahoo and search engine giant Google, but it appears that the data was stolen via malware-infected machines rather than a direct hack of their systems. Trustwave‘s SpiderLabs delved into source... Read more
Google-Backed BitTorrent Client Infected PCs And Android Devices
Xunlei is a BitTorrent service primarily used in China and backed by Google.  The service was recently caught spreading malware to thousands of both Windows PCs and Android devices. An investigation was undertaken by security company Eset and has revealed that Xunlei has been spreading malware named “Win32/Kankan” to... Read more
FBI Asked Microsoft For Access To Encryption Software
Sources have revealed that the FBI have a history of asking software companies for backdoors in their encryption software to help them catch criminals. The backdoors would provide government agencies with the ability to wiretap people’s computers. As the news broke out that the NSA had spent millions on... Read more
South Korean Government Attacked By New Trojan:Korhigh
Amid a new wave of attacks hitting government and media networks in South Korea, researchers at Symantec have uncovered yet another piece of malware that destroys sensitive hard drive data and renders computers unusable. The new malware program is called Korhigh (named by security firm Symantec) and contains the same... Read more
Evil Phone Charger Will Hack Your iPhone
Who would have thought that something so simple as plugging your phone in to charge, could leave you vunerable to hackers? Well according to researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, that is exactly how your iPhone could be hacked. They claim that they have created an iPhone charger... Read more
Mobile Malware Now Affects 32.8 Million Android Devices
Mobile malware increased by 163% in 2012 with 32.8 million Android devices now suspected of carrying some form of data mining technology. The team at mobile service provider NQ Mobile released a study on Monday that found 65,000 different forms of app repackaging, SMS phishing, and malicious URL hacks.... Read more
Microsoft Warns About Pitfalls of Pirated Software
Aside from the fact that Microsoft loses money each time you purchase unlicensed software, there seems to be a pretty good argument against doing so. Not that you should need some convincing, right? After all, anyone who considers himself an upstanding citizen does not buy pirated software. Even if... Read more
How Malware is evolving

How Malware is evolving

Internet September 10, 2012

Malware was once technology that was relegated to Windows operating systems and low-end open-source programs, however in 2012 the technology has involved into malicious code that can literally take down a nuclear power plant (Stuxnet) or go undetected for years (Flame). As Malware continues to grow into a force... Read more