New York Times Site Pop-Up Says Your Computer Is Infected

Zott writes "Apparently, 'some readers' of the New York Times site are getting a bit more with their news: an apparently syndicated adware popup with a faux virus scan of the user's computer indicating they are infected, and a link to go download a fix now. It's entertaining when a Mac user gets it, but clearly downloading an .exe file isn't a good way to keep your computer clean ..." Update: 09/14 03:20 GMT by T : Troy encountered this malware, "and did basic forensics. Summary: iframe ad then series of HTML/JS redirects, ending at a fake virus scanner page with a "Scan" link (made to look like a dialog box button) that downloaded malware." Nice explanation!

Comments

Re:I saw it

[Anonymous Coward]

But when it starts telling me the C:\ drive on my Linux box is infected it's hard to stop laughing.

Yeah, especially since there's no such thing as a "C:\ drive" even on a Windows box.

Re:Ouch

[arminw]

...Ouch for all those who are de facto family computer technical support..
Although I have done Windows support for friends and family for a long time, I do so no longer. I tell people that if they want to have a mostly trouble-free computer, pay a little extra and get a Mac. They "just work".... at least most of the time.