Computer virus found on Facebook steals bank details and money from accounts

A computer virus that steals bank details and empties money from accounts has been found on Facebook by security experts. Trend Micro discovered the malicious links were being posted by fake Facebook profiles on popular brand pages, such as the U.S. National Football League.
The links are believed to be controlled by the Russian Business Network - an online criminal gang accused of stealing internet users' identities and private information.

The link discovered by Trend Micro was for a page called 'Bring the N.F.L to Los Angeles'.
The page has since been removed. The security firm claim that there may be many more hidden on pages, or even being spread inadvertently by Facebook friends. When a Facebook user clicks the links the Trojan - which gets its name from the Trojan horse the Greeks used to enter the city of Troy undetected - is installed on their computer.

It then scans all the personal files and steals any private information. The malware is also able to collect login details, even if they aren't stored in documents on your PC, by using keystroke logging. Keystroke logging, also known as keylogging, can record which keys on a keyboard are being pressed. It can then wait until the user types in their online banking address and login details and steal them. Read more >>

Hacked PCs falsify billions of ad clicks

Online investigators have exposed a network of hijacked computers that defrauded advertisers by generating billions of fake ad views. The so-called botnet scheme, which hijacked 120,000 residential PCs in the US and cost advertisers millions of dollars a month, highlights the increasing complexity and opacity of online advertising.

Spider.io, a London-based start-up that tracks web browsing activity, estimates traffic from the “Chameleon” botnet accounted for almost two-thirds of the total visits to certain websites. The inflated number of page views increased advertising revenues for the websites’ owners.

In a report published on Tuesday, Spider.io said the hijacked PCs generated up to 9bn ad views or “impressions” every month across a network of more than 200 sites. Sophisticated software even mimicked cursor movements and mouse clicks, giving the impression that potential consumers were visiting the sites. Read more >>

Intel sales sink as PCs slump

Weak PC sales finally caught up to Intel, dragging the chipmaking giant's sales and profits lower in the third quarter. Back-to-school sales typically boost computer demand in the late summer, but a weakening global economy and consumers' shift to tablets cut PC demand to half its third-quarter norm, Intel said. The company's PC chip sales fell by 8% last quarter, in-line with the overall global PC market.

For the current quarter, Intel doesn't expect any improvement, anticipating that PC sales will grow at half their seasonal rate. Computer makers are taking a very cautious approach with their inventories as the global economy continues to slump. They are also taking a wait-and-see approach to Microsoft's Windows 8 launch, which will take place on Oct. 26.

"Our third-quarter results reflected a continuing tough economic environment," said Paul Otellini, Intel's CEO, on a conference call with analysts. "The world of computing is in the midst of a period of breakthrough innovation and creativity. Intel has a history of navigating industry's transitions and emerging better and stronger." Read more >>

AMD could slash up to 30 percent of its workforce

AllThingsD and CNET are reporting that 30 percent of AMD's workforce could be laid off, though one of several unnamed sources notes the cuts could be as low as 10 percent. If these reports hold true, this would be the second round of layoffs for AMD within a year's time.

The reductions will reportedly affect the firm's engineering and sales employees, and may be serious enough to cause a paring back of product lines.

The silicon giant could potentially reveal its plans as early as next week, which would coincide with the announcement of its third quarter financial results. With the company expecting a ten percent revenue drop in Q3, it looks like the latest figures will continue the trend of less than ideal results.

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Google engineer finds British spyware on PCs and smartphones

Two security researchers have found new evidence that legitimate spyware sold by British firm Gamma International appears to be being used by some of the most repressive regimes in the world. Google security engineer Morgan Marquis-Boire and Berkeley student Bill Marczak were investigating spyware found in email attachments to several Bahraini activists. In their analysis they identified the spyware infecting not only PCs but a broad range of smartphones, including iOS, Android, RIM, Symbian, and Windows Phone 7 handsets.

The spying software has the capability to monitor and report back on calls and GPS positions from mobile phones, as well as recording Skype sessions on a PC, logging keystrokes, and controlling any cameras and microphones that are installed. They report the code appears to be FinSpy, a commercial spyware sold to countries for police criminal investigations. FinSpy was developed by the German conglomerate Gamma Group and sold via the UK subsidiary Gamma International. In a statement to Bloomberg, managing director Martin Muench denied the company had any involvement.

Parallel research by computer investigators at Rapid7 found command and control software servers for the FinSpy code running in Indonesia, Australia, Qatar, Ethiopia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Mongolia, Latvia, and the United Arab Emirates, with another server in the US running on Amazon's EC2 cloud systems. Less than 24 hours after the research was published, the team noted that several of these servers were shut down. Read more >>