BBC
Cyber criminals are starting to use
fake blogs to snare new victims.

he bogus web journals are being used as traps that infect visitor's
machines with keylogging software or viruses.

Filtering firm Websense said it had found
hundreds of bogus blogs

baited with all kinds of malicious

software to snare the unwary.

Websense warned that the baited blogs
could get past traditional security
measures that try to protect
people from malicious programs.

Hidden harm

The company said blogs were being used
because they inadvertently offered lots of
help to computer criminals.

Blogs are free and simple to use, offer
users lots of storage space, can be used
anonymously and most do not scan
stored files for viruses and other
malicious programs.

Websense said it had seen examples of some computer criminals
creating a legitimate looking weblog, loading it with keylogging
software or viral code, and then sending out the address of it
through instant messenger or spam e-mail.

"These aren't the kind of blog websites that someone would stumble
upon and infect their machine accidentally," said Dan Hubbard,
Websense's research director. "The success of these attacks
relies upon a certain level of social engineering to persuade
the individual to click on the link."
In separate cases some blogs were being used as storage lockers holding
chunks of malicious code that the controller of a network of zombie
machines wants those remotely-controlled computers to use.

In late March, Websense found a fake e-mail message that tried to direct
people to a blog that was hosting keylogging software.
Now it estimates that there could be more than 200 bogus blogs in existence
that are being used to attack net users.

By comparison blog-watching service Technorati estimates that there are
more than 8 million blogs in existence.
Anyone visiting the baited blog and falling victim to the keylogger could
find that they have bank accounts rifled by the phishing gang behind
the bogus website.
Websense warned that viruses hosted on weblogs might be a danger because
they get round the filtering systems many firms have created to ensure
malicious programs do not reach employees.

Users were urged to keep anti-virus and patches up to date, regularly scan
machines with anti-spyware products and exercise caution when reading
unsolicited messages sent via e-mail or instant messenger.