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Click-Fraud Trojan Politely Updates Flash On Compromised Computers

Posted by samzenpus on from the how-kind dept.

jfruh writes: Kotver is in many ways a typical clickfraud trojan: it hijacks the user's browser process to create false clicks on banner ads, defrauding advertisers and ad networks. But one aspect of it is unusual: it updates the victim's installation of Flash to the most recent version, ensuring that similar malware can't get in.

5 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. Alternate reason? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But one aspect of it is unusual: it updates the victim's installation of Flash to the most recent version, ensuring that similar malware can't get in.

    Or maybe it just wants to make sure that all ads are shown so that it can click on them.

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  2. Secure Flash? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Isn't "secure Flash" an oxymoron? Is there a "secure" version of Flash? Isn't that why we are migrating to HTML5 instead?

    1. Re:Secure Flash? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sure, but there is only one supplier of flash, who doesn't bother fixing the bugs. It is closed-source, so you can't even volunteer to help.

      But HTML5 is not software, it is a spec. If you don't like, say, microsofts implementation, then you are free to roll your own or install some competing product. All browser vendors have their own html5 - pick a good one.

  3. Re:Mixed Feelings by roman_mir · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Let's kill all advertising so that you will not be able to find any new products or services and no company could find a client who didn't know the company directly somehow. Wouldn't it be great, not to know about anything people are trying to create for you?

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  4. This is not news! by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It could have been news - if you told us what novel exploit it used, who benefited, and how. That would have been news - and interesting.
    But no - you had to put lipstick on a pig and try and flog the wedding night videos.

    Malware has been doing the same thing for a long time - closing the weaknesses it used for access. The only thing that sounds new is the "reporting" slant. Politely. WTF - does it say "excuse me"? [sigh]

    Samzenpuss - stop posting this shit please. (see that's polite).

    jfruh - stop submitting this click-bait slanted crap, please. e.g. "Japanese And U.S. Piloted Robots To Brawl For National Pride". All you had to do was say "fighting robots" and more people would have read the story - no need for the Fox News histrionics. Stop acting like a whipped dog trying to get your "stories" published. You just embarrass yourself.

    Thanks for lowering the standard.