Over the weekend multiple malicious ads were found on highly known sites that were infected with trojans and ransomware viruses…
Big name sites are a goldmine for hackers. One URL that we all probably see daily, msn.com, was among many of the infected sites. Some of the others include realtor.com, nfl.com, xfinity.com, and many more. Unfortunately, the hackers know which sites are most popular and insert these malicious ads into those pages.
When the corrupt ads were decoded, they were found to have thousands of pieces of text, including a list of names of the most popular security products and tools. If the ad scans the computer and finds that none of the security features are on the PC, it will immediately attempt to corrupt your computer with the Bedep trojan and TelsaCrypt ransomware.
The most popular corrupt domain names include the word “media” within them. It is believed the hackers obtain these domain names quickly after they are deemed inactive, then rely on their reputation to generate clicks, leading to destruction.
It is advised by Ars Technica, that users disable the hackers platform. Meaning to uninstall all third-party browser extensions such as Adobe Flash, Oracle Java and Microsoft Silverlight, unless absolutely necessary. Also, be sure you are completing updates as they are available. Many times, updates will include patches to security holes and if you are not updating timely, you could be leaving yourself vulnerable to attack.
