In this edition, I’m mixing in some ICANN news concerning new TLDs, since launch of the new ‘.xxx’ will undoubetly generate another era of spam …
* Online red-light district opens
* How Internet Naming Authority ICAAN Plans To Double Its Revenues
* Generic top level domains ‘will only benefit trademark lawyers’
* Palm Beach firm selling first XXX domain names for porn sites
* There’s a world of crooks wanting to steal your identity
* Potential Phishing E-Mails Should be Handled with Suspicion
* Scam HMRC emails increase 300%
* Yahoo and Bing Adverts Distribute Malware!
* Nastier DroidDreamLight malware on the loose
* Ten years on from Nimda: Worm author still at large
. . . and more
Online red-light district opens
The first names to go were hot, free, live and sexy. Porn.xxx is still up for grabs. The brainchild of Toronto entrepreneur Jason Hendeles, the domain suffix .xxx has been approved by the U.S. based organization that oversees web addresses. Names are going fast.
Frank Schilling, a Canadian who operates out of the Cayman Islands, bought 25 names for $1.7-million, including sexe.xxx to capture the French market, and sexo.xxx to accommodate Spanish-speaking porn-seekers.
Full story : Toronto Star
How Internet Naming Authority ICAAN Plans To Double Its Revenues
Following its launch of the .xxx domain name this week, the Internet naming authority known as ICANN is preparing to uncork thousands more new names that nobody appears to want or need.
The plan would double ICANN’s revenues and create expensive new headaches for trademark owners. Just what is ICANN up to? Full story : Jeff Roberts – paidContent.org
Opening up generic top level domains ‘will only benefit trademark lawyers’
Opening up generic top level domains (gTLD) is likely to hinder large companies looking to improve their brand, as they will inevitably face huge admin fees and complicated legal battles.
This was the opinion of Peter Matthews, founder and managing director of brand and internet consultancy firm Nucleus, who was addressing a Westminster eForum event on web regulation and domain names today. Full story : Computing
Palm Beach Gardens firm starts selling first XXX domain names for porn sites
XXX now officially marks the spot for porn sites on the Internet. Stuart Lawley, a Palm Beach Gardens entrepreneur, has launched the sale of the first Internet domain names ending in .xxx — taking its place alongside the better-known .edu, .com and .org. Lawley has fought Internet regulators for more than a decade to create the .xxx domain and position his company, ICM Registry, as the first to sign up pornographers and adult entertainment operators.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – ICANN — approved Lawley’s request in March to set up what some have called the first “online red-light district.” Lawley said Thursday that he already has received 900,000 inquiries about 650,000 names. He projects first-year revenues between $30 million and $80 million. Full story : www.sun-sentinel.com
From phishing to vishing to baiting, there’s a world of crooks wanting to steal your identity
The little old lady behind you in the grocery checkout line. The new employee in your big company who needs some advice about his computer. Whoever dropped that flash drive in the parking lot. To say nothing of the bank that just sent you an email warning about a security breach on your account, or the high Nigerian government official who wants to split $10 million with you.
Going through life assuming all these people are out to steal everything you own may lead to a paranoid existence. But in a world of ‘social engineering’ crooks trying steal your identity, looking at almost everything with ‘a healthy level of paranoia’ is the sanest way to live, Elgin Community College’s information security officer told an audience at ECC this week. Full story : couriernews.suntimes.com
Potential Phishing E-Mails Should be Handled with Suspicion, Urges Trend Micro
According to Trend Micro, online operators who think a phishing campaign may have attacked them are suggested for verifying with friends prior to clicking on potentially malicious electronic mails, published BCS on September 5, 2011.
Specifically, Trend Micro’s security, research and communications director Rick Ferguson in charge of the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region has recommended the general public that they should treat e-mails from unknown sources, which may be presenting an award, with suspicion for stopping phishing assaults. HostWay published this on September 5, 2011. Full story : www.spamfighter.com
Scam HMRC emails increase 300%
Almost 24,000 of these emails were sent in August – a three-fold increase on 2010 levels, HMRC confirmed. The Revenue is currently shutting down 100 scam websites a month.
The emails include a link to a cloned replica of the HMRC website. The recipient is asked to provide credit or debit card details. Victims risk not only have their personal accounts emptied, but also have their information sold to criminal gangs, HMRC said. Full story : www.accountancyage.com
Yahoo and Bing Adverts Distribute Malware!
Third-parties adverts have been a tool for distributing malware for a long time. Now, however, hackers have even managed to exploit Yahoo and Bing search as transmitters for the infection.
The malicious adverts have been redirecting users to potentially dangerous websites and subsequently -> dangerous downloads. Most of the advertisements used the names of famous, legitimate products to lure victims into viewing the content and eventually – downloading the malware. Amongst the exploited names are Firefox, Adobbe Player, Skype and uTorrent. Full story : Sonya Vasileva – pc1news
Nastier DroidDreamLight malware on the loose
A new variant of the DroidDreamLight malware targeting devices that run Google’s Android operating system has been discovered, this time with potentially the ability to quietly install and uninstall packages.
Computer security firm Trend Micro said the new variant, found in a China-based third-party application store, is disguised as battery-monitoring and task-listing tools. Full story : GMANews.TV
Ten years on from Nimda: Worm author still at large
Saturday marks the tenth anniversary of the infamous Nimda worm.
Nimda (admin spelled backwards) was a hybrid worm that spread via infected email attachments and across websites running vulnerable versions of Microsoft’s IIS web server software. Specifically the malware exploited a folder traversal vulnerability, which was patched by Microsoft a month after the initial outbreak on 18 September 2001. Full story : www.theregister.co.uk
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Thanks for reading…
You can also keep up with the efforts to curb spam and cybercrime by reading the news at Knujon and HostExploit.com. And, you should switch to SpamCop and take a stand against spam.
