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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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11

New Trojan Horse Virus Stalks Online Banking

Infected computers provide secret log-ins to hackers

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(Newser) – A complex new Trojan horse virus called Clampi is stealing online banking log-in codes from infected computers and broadcasting them to hackers who can then empty the victim's bank account, reports the Times of London. The virus spreads via websites laced with the malicious code, including banks, credit card companies, brokerages, and retail sites. It  attacks only computers running Microsoft Windows.

Clampi, which has targeted mostly small businesses, was used to steal $75,000 from a Georgia auto parts supplier, and $150,000 from the public school district in Sands Spring, Okla. It appears to have infected hundreds of thousands of computers in the US and Britain.

A new Trojan horse computer virus is stealing online banking log-in information.
A new Trojan horse computer virus is stealing online banking log-in information.   (Getty Images)
What lurks beneath?
What lurks beneath?   (Photo: Business Wire)
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Clampi is a complex threat. People are only just beginning to understand how
it operates. - Orla Cox, security operations manager with Symantec

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11 comments
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jagerhans
Sep 21, 09 4:53 AM CDT
please ms windows users, don't switch to linux so we long-term linux users will keep being relatively safe in our environment where most windows viruses and malwares just won't run. i don't want to migrate to QNX. Reply
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+3
IN RESPONSE:
MackTheHack
Sep 21, 09 8:49 AM CDT
Linux is just as vulnerable to the attack vectors that MS is, its just that MS is also more popular. Most windows viruses will also run in a linux environment with only minor modifications, and the great thing is that the linux and mac communities think they are immune to these viruses. There are more LAMP websites that are vunerable to SQL injection than .NET, that's for sure. Couple that with the relative inexperience of people administering the majority of those sites and you have a recipe for disaster
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+4
IN RESPONSE:
jagerhans
Sep 21, 09 10:47 AM CDT
think before writing. sure they can but they don't modify the code for getting them running under linux cause it is not worth the effort. that's why i asked MS customers NOT to adopt linux... it would turn into a viable target. however linux users are much more aware of security issues than you think because in the average they are immensely more experienced than the average windows users.
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0
Graymatter
Sep 21, 09 5:09 AM CDT
Longtime Linux user? I doubt that. Otherwise the proper name would have been announced GNU/Linux. Reply
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-10
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Sep 21, 09 8:08 AM CDT
Ooh, a geek slapdown. Yeah, Linux users say "Gnu/Linux" all the time, just like we never say "TV" or "PC" or "DVD". We always use the fulestl name feasible to show our intelligence and superiority . . . Who are you, rms? Only pseudo-intellectuals like to wow people by trying to put someone else to shame and make a mistake in the process.
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+5

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