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Malvertising: Daily Mail ads briefly linked to malware | Malvertising: Daily Mail ads briefly linked to malware |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Readers of the Daily Mail's website were shown fake advertisements that linked to malware, a security company has discovered. | Readers of the Daily Mail's website were shown fake advertisements that linked to malware, a security company has discovered. |
Bogus ads for shoes briefly appeared among the selection of banners displayed on DailyMail.com. | Bogus ads for shoes briefly appeared among the selection of banners displayed on DailyMail.com. |
Instead of online shops, the advertisements linked to malware that can expose computers to "ransomware". | Instead of online shops, the advertisements linked to malware that can expose computers to "ransomware". |
Ransomware encrypts files on a victim's computer and asks for a payment to decrypt them again. | Ransomware encrypts files on a victim's computer and asks for a payment to decrypt them again. |
The practice is known as "malvertising". | The practice is known as "malvertising". |
Security company Malwarebytes made the discovery last week and published a report about its findings online. | Security company Malwarebytes made the discovery last week and published a report about its findings online. |
The report says Malwarebytes contacted the Daily Mail and relevant advertising networks about the issue on Friday. | The report says Malwarebytes contacted the Daily Mail and relevant advertising networks about the issue on Friday. |
By Monday morning, the security company was informed that the fake ads had been removed. | By Monday morning, the security company was informed that the fake ads had been removed. |
Bogus bargains | Bogus bargains |
The banners, purporting to be for an online shoe retailer, were published via a bogus ad server. | The banners, purporting to be for an online shoe retailer, were published via a bogus ad server. |
From there, they were distributed via an advertising network that presents ads to readers on the Daily Mail's website. | From there, they were distributed via an advertising network that presents ads to readers on the Daily Mail's website. |
If a user clicked on one of the ads, they would be redirected to a well known piece of malware called the Angler Exploit Kit, which attacks vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and Flash. | If a user clicked on one of the ads, they would be redirected to a well known piece of malware called the Angler Exploit Kit, which attacks vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and Flash. |
There are various ways to protect yourself from ransomware, according to Tony Berning, senior manager at software company Opswat. | There are various ways to protect yourself from ransomware, according to Tony Berning, senior manager at software company Opswat. |
"To protect against ransomware, users must back up their data regularly," he said. | "To protect against ransomware, users must back up their data regularly," he said. |
"In addition to this, an important defence against ransomware is the use of anti-virus engines to scan for threats. | |
"With over 450,000 new threats emerging daily, anti-malware engines need to detect new threats continuously, and will inevitably address different threats at different times," Mr Berning said. | "With over 450,000 new threats emerging daily, anti-malware engines need to detect new threats continuously, and will inevitably address different threats at different times," Mr Berning said. |
The Daily Mail did not immediately provide a comment. | The Daily Mail did not immediately provide a comment. |