99% of people can't watch this video more than 25 seconds

The tag line is enticing.  What type of video could be so awful that most people will be unable to watch it for a mere half a minute? Will I be able to bear it, or will I fall by the wayside like the other 99+% of people have?  On top of that, a couple of my friends on Facebook have mentioned this video to me.  I’ve seen more posts about this video today on Facebook than I have seen about the movie Inception.

These thoughts, among others, are likely to have been going through the minds of millions of Facebook users today when they saw the following status message pop up from one of their friends:



If you follow the link, you will find yourself at this screen:

The picture here is ostensibly what we often call a CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart).  These types of tests appear in a host of places, typically to ensure that the person at the other end of the Internet connection is indeed a real human being and not some type of automated software program with a nefarious purpose.  A computer program might have a hard time automatically interpreting these instructions and clicking on the appropriate regions of the screen, but it is child’s play for a human.  (Though, as an aside, it does not seem hard to imagine writing a computer program that can actually follow these instructions.)

While these instructions seem straightforward and while you are likely to want to follow them to access such a salacious and possibly disturbing video, you will find that underneath the hood, things are quite different.

Here’s the actual code underneath the “red” button:

If you notice carefully (the highlighted line), clicking on the red button will cause you to share this link with all of your friends.  So, while you might think you are just following instructions to see this video, all of your friends will now be spammed with this content.

Under the blue button, a similar story unfolds:

Click on it, and suddenly you will join the throngs of Facebook users who unknowingly have “Liked” this page. 

In either case, as you might imagine, there really is no video behind the digital curtain.  Instead, this whole ruse is a rather mischievous way of propagating  a scam over Facebook.  What makes this type of scam all the more powerful is that it leverages social context.  You are far more likely to click the link and follow the instructions since it is at the behest of a friend on Facebook.   This type of social propagation of malicious activity is largely why we designed Immunet Protect to provide community-based protection.  Sometimes the biggest threats to your online safety are far closer than you might think.

Sometimes these scams are the work of a prankster looking for notoriety.  In other instances, they form a launch pad for some type of cybercriminal activity looking to ensnare victims and ultimately profit off of them.  In either case, it is best to stay far away and ensure that your computer is protected from the latest threats.

We’ll continue to monitor the situation to see how the die will be cast.

“Everybody Get Together and Protect One Another Right Now…”

We recently shared our Immunet Protection Map to demonstrate how effective Immunet Protect is in blocking threats all over the world. Microsoft recently reported that Internet Explorer 8 has blocked one billion attempts to download malware. Of course, there are far more than 1 billion attempts to download malware worldwide. But Microsoft’s news reinforces the importance of everyone doing their part to combat malware.

And we’re all doing what we can. Microsoft is combating malware by building a stronger browser, the Immunet team has built an effective antivirus product that specializes in data mining. There are over 400,000 plus Immunet users who together, through the power of Collective Immunity, help block more than 14 million threats as a community. Think about that number – 14 million threats that might otherwise harm many people and many PCs. To all those in the Immunet community, thank you for making the online world safer for everyone. 

In the spirit of doing our part, think about someone you know who could use Immunet Protect or Immunet Protect Plus – a relative, a friend, a coworker, or social network contact?

It takes seconds to protect someone online through Immunet’s Community feature. Watch our new video to find out how. And remember, for July,get 10% off your Immunet order by entering the coupon code "JULY" at checkout.



Need Another Reason For Layered Protection? Here’s One.

It’s not just you and me that have to worry about malware. This week, tech giant Dell discovered malware in its delivery of motherboards. The company is now in the process of overhauling its testing process to resolve issues before dispatching hardware to customers.

The culprit seems to be motherboards for PowerEdge servers that might  contain the W32.Spybot worm in flash storage. As reported in PC World:

Flash on motherboards are susceptible to the same kind of malware infections that USB flash devices are prone to, said Simha Sethumadhavan, assistant professor of computer science at Columbia University. This incident shows how hardware, either flash or a processor, if hacked, can be used as a way to transmit malware.

"All software runs on hardware. If the processor is hacked then it can subvert all software countermeasures. Since hardware is the root of trust, attacks on hardware are potentially more dangerous," Sethumadhavan said.

As you might recall, earlier this week wrote about the USB malware issue. This motherboard attack reinforces the need for layered of protection, as you never know if the problem will come from a tainted delivery batch or from your best friend’s infected PC.  Do you have layered protection?



New Virus Alert: Malware Spreading Through USB Storage Devices

There’s a new crop of malware spreading through USB storage devices, reports security reporter Brian Krebs. The rootkit-style attack worms its way in through a security flaw in the way Microsoft Windows handles shortcut files.

Microsoft released an advisory about this vulnerability. The tech giant explains, “the vulnerability exists because Windows incorrectly parses shortcuts in such a way that malicious code may be executed when the icon of a specially crafted shortcut is displayed. This vulnerability is most likely to be exploited through removable drives.” The advisory also includes guidance for those already infected, as well as some preventative measures.   

Malware stemming from external drives, like USBs, is becoming increasingly common. We commend Microsoft for steering its users towards remedies, but prevention is still the best approach.  As Krebs points out:

If this truly is a new vulnerability in Windows, it could soon become a popular method for spreading malware. But for now, this threat seems fairly targeted: Independent security researcher Frank Boldewin said he had an opportunity to dissect the malware samples, and observed that they appeared to be looking for Siemens WinCC SCADA systems, or machines responsible for controlling the operations of large, distributed systems, such as manufacturing and power plants.

“Looks like this malware was made for espionage,” Boldewin said.

Are you and your network protected? In order to be fully protected from viruses spreading from USB keys to your computer, you need advanced offline protection like Immunet Protect Plus.

For July, get 10% off your Immunet order by entering the coupon code "JULY" at checkout.

Immunet By The Map

As the Immunet community approaches almost 400,000 members we wanted to come up with a cool way to show where all of you are located and the impact that you are having on making the Internet just a little bit safer.  What better way than to show it on a map?

As many of you will recall, data mining is one of Immunet's strengths, and one of the approaches that sets us apart from our competitors.  Due to the way that Immunet was built, we have the ability to examine global threat data very easily and make this presentable at a very high level.

Adam O'Donnell (the smart PhD who helped to build Immunet) and I overlayed this data onto a map and what you see below is a geographical representation of viruses that Immunet BLOCKED in just a one week period at the beginning of July.

It's pretty amazing to us when we can see how many threats Immunet is blocking around the world.  It should definitely make all of us feel like we're doing something good in being part of this community.  Immunet just keeps getting stronger as more of you join and that will only continue to make it more effective.

Keep in mind that this represents only where threats were blocked.  The Immunet community is much larger than that and of course not all of you see viruses every day!

Click on the below image for a larger version

Get Better Protection from Collective Safety Programs - at Home and Online

My family recently moved to a new neighborhood that contains an active neighborhood watch program, which reminded me of the Immunet Community in many ways. The "Neighborhood Watch" is a time-tested community-based protection model, and is one of the oldest and most effective crime prevention programs in the United States. Neighborhood Watch programs enable ordinary citizens to collaborate with law enforcement to deter crime and make communities safer. Statistics show that neighborhoods with Neighborhood Watch programs have crime rates 40 percent lower than those neighborhoods without such a program. We are hoping to provide the same collective benefit from our "safety in numbers" approach at Immunet; by enabling ordinary net citizens with simple security tools (like Immunet Protect) that keep their PC's and communities safer online. By collecting virus samples from the Immunet community and maintaining a virtual database of millions of threats in the Immunet Cloud, we serve as your real-time online "virus safety guard" to defend your computer against intruders on a collective, global scale.

Our closest neighbors are the people most likely to be able to help us in the case of emergency, and have a vested interested in helping you keep your home safe from fire, burglary, or other damage. There is also good old-fashioned neighborly concern for others, which is also one of the reasons why so many of you have chosen to share Immunet Protect with your friends. You want to help them keep their PCs safe because you care about them, or you might want to prevent them from giving you a virus, or avoid having them call you for PC Support when they do get a virus! The neighborhood watch program becomes more effective as each home joins in participating, just as the Immunet Community grows in strength with each new member we welcome -- true safety in numbers with Collective Immunity.

We encourage you to use Immunet's Community feature to protect people by inviting your contacts to use Immunet Protect Free. While you don't need to share Immunet to benefit from Collective Immunity, a little sharing can go a long way in keeping everyone using Immunet safer against threats. Each time any user in the Immunet community gets a virus, they contribute to the collective intelligence within the Immunet Cloud (think of this as "command central" for our Immunet 'Neighborhood Watch' program). Once that virus is blocked on one computer, it is instantly blocked on ALL computers connected to Immunet at that time. This means that all people using Immunet Protect are now forever immune to that specific virus for as long as their protection status remains active with Immunet. 

Going back to the local neighborhood watch model, imagine if your neighbor detected an intruder at her home, and could instantly alert you and all your neighbors of that intrusion -- and simultaneously keep you safe from that same intruder...forever? As soon as that intruder is detected, it is added to a virtual database of "intruder signatures" (we know them as "virus fingerprints" in the Immunet Community), so that no one in your community need ever worry that they will be a victim of that same intruder -- thanks to your participation in that collective protection model. This is how Immunet's Collective Immunity works using Immunet Protect. 

To add more contacts in your Immunet Community, simply go to your "Community" tab and enter your contact's email address. Each member you add increases your "Protection Factor", which measures the value you bring to detecting threats for the rest of the community. You can add the Immunet Team to get started: oliver@immunet.com, alfred@immunet.com, charles@immunet.com, adam@immunet.com, millard@immunet.com, denise@immunet.com

To start a neighborhood watch program in your own local community, check out these resourcesonline: USAonWatch.org, National Neighborhood Watch Institute and also Crime Reports (for US-based crime alerts only). 

Remember that safety begins in the home, and online safety begins with protecting your PC and your online community. Both Immunet Protect and the Neighborhood Watch program are simple and FREE -- all it takes is a little collaboration to benefit from these collective protection models.

SPECIAL PARTNER PROMOTION: Immunet has partnered with ADT Home Security to offer US-Based Immunet members a FREE ADT Monitored Home Security System, valued at $850. There is no cost for parts & activation for Immunet users. Simply pay a $99 installation charge, purchase the home monitoring service & you get a FREE Home Security System by calling 1-877-318-5199

Protect someone for free using Immunet today.

New Threats Call for Layered Security Approach

Cyber attacks are reaching pandemic levels, according to a recent report by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. As the threat mushrooms, protecting against it has become ever more complex. According to the report: 

"Security is always a cat-and-mouse game between hackers and security vendors," says Kartik Hosanagar, a professor of operations and information management at Wharton. "What has changed is that both companies and hackers have grown sophisticated. So the good news is that most security software will protect us from the most basic threats, which was not the case in the past. But the bad news is that malware and viruses have become more sophisticated, so even advanced users can fall prey to them."

Worms associated with interactive media and malware affecting social networking sites are         particularly dangerous, he notes, because "for example, you are less likely to be suspicious of a message from a friend on Facebook asking you to click on a video link. And yet, this kind of attack is on the rise" even as Facebook, Twitter, and other such sites are increasingly being used by businesses.

This is why Immunet Protect advocates taking a layered approach to antivirus security. Today’s threat landscape is far more sophisticated than the security industry has ever seen and using just one antivirus product isn’t enough. Running two antivirus programs at once was previously frowned upon, but as the threat landscape – and antivirus solutions evolved – the layered strategy has become the advised approach.

Immunet Protect is 100% compatible with most major antivirus products. View our complete list of compatible products. No matter how protected you are, there is no absolute guarantee that your PC will be free from viruses. But you can ensure that you have real-time protection against malware (like Immunet Protect) and share Immunet Protect for free with your network.



The Why Behind Cloud Technology

One of the questions we frequently field at Immunet is what value the cloud brings to anti-virus. There are many technical, analytical, and business reasons behind why the cloud model is the future of AV, but for now I am going to focus on one area that we feel we have the greatest ability to innovate, namely rapid detection of new threats. 

In traditional anti-virus, collections of rules are fetched by the product and stored locally. These files, known as definitions, or "defs", can classify a virus, but provide little context to the AV product about the file's global behavior. Data such as how often the file is seen in the world, how many other users have been exposed, and the rate at which it first emerged is completely lacking. Information on the flow of files, both clean and malicious, can be as valuable for classifying files in near real time as rules written by an analyst for malware that is several days old. 

The problem with AV that does not have a cloud component is that there is no way for a global analytics system to acquire and act on that data in near real time, allowing malware to escape for several days until a team of analysts is able to catch up with the handcrafted definition. While our technology is still in its electronic equivalent of its teenage years, we are able to analyze our cloud lookups to make rapid decisions on new threats days before we see them discussed in the back channels constructed by AV developers. 

Malware is becoming more numerous in total volume, less frequently seen on a case by case basis, and shorter lived. All of these factors are pushing AV firms to Cloud-based models. Why wait for wait for traditional AV vendors to re-tool their technology into cloud-based solutions, when ours is ready and working now?

Atlanta Named the Most Infected City in the US

Atlanta is enjoying a major sports summer, with basketball superstar Joe Johnson re-signing with the Hawks and legend Shaq O’Neal considering joining the team. But one competition that Atlanta is making news on this summer doesn’t call for celebration.  

According to PC World, Atlanta has earned the dubious honor of having the highest malware infection rate per capita, based on population. The Enigma Software Group pulled a 30-day history of infection in the 100 largest cities in the US to come up with its rankings. New York City and  Los Angeles ranked highest in the sheer number of attacks, not surprising considering the cities bear the largest populations in the country. But the twist is, when it comes to attacks per capita, New York ranked near the bottom while Atlanta buoyed to the top.   

Birmingham, Alabama; Denver; Chesapeake, Virginia; and Madison, Wisconsin were among the most infected cities per capita. The lowest per capita infection rates were enjoyed by Jersey City, New Jersey; Santa Ana, California; Detroit; Boise, Idaho; and Memphis, Tennessee.

Living in a highly-infected metro area doesn't necessarily mean that you're more likely to catch viruses, but it may mean that friends and connections in those areas may not have updated antivirus software, and are therefore more likely to pass infection on to their (local) closest contacts as well.

Do you live in one of these areas, or know any friends who do? Please pass this on to them. No matter where you live,  keep in mind that who you are connected to does make a difference when it comes to keeping your PC free from viruses -- make sure you and your connections have real-time protection against malware and share Immunet Protect for free today.



Don't Get Infected by Twilight Malware - Make Sure You're Protected

It’s no surprise that hackers have piggybacked on the pop culture hoopla surrounding yesterday’s release of the new Twilight installment, “Eclipse.” Fans are eagerly scouring the web for information on the movie, but more than half of the links they’re getting are tainted with malware, according to news reports.

Consider what this means for malware infiltration. If hackers can contaminate more than 50% of links on a particularly hot topic, our vulnerability to viruses is higher than we think. We take for granted that our Internet searches are safe -- after all this is information we’re seeking. It’s not as though we’re clicking on fishy links sent to us via spam. Well, that’s the old way of thinking. In the new world of malware, gaming search engines is a clever way to get savvy web surfers to stumble upon malware. And even if you’re not searching the web for Twilight content, there’s probably someone in your life who is. Are you protected?