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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">In this issue:</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">1. The Latest on the DNS Changer Malware</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">2. Cyber Shopping Risks</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">1. The Latest on the DNS Changer Malware</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">The FBI arrested six people this month in connection with a click-fraud scheme that infected more than 4 million computers around the world. The arrests were the result of a two-year investigation
known as Operation Ghost Click. All were arrested in Estonia. A seventh person is still at large.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">The malware used in the scheme is known as DNS Changer. DNS is short for Domain Name System (<a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/dns.htm">learn more about DNS here</a>). DNS Changer changes the
DNS settings on the infected computers, pointing them to DNS servers under control of the criminals. They can then redirect victim's traffic from legitimate sites, such as iTunes, to other sites. The criminals earned more than $14 million from commissions
on referrals to the online advertising at these sites. The attack targeted both Windows and Mac computers. </p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Technical specifications of the malware can be found
<a href="http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/trojan_w32_dnschanger.shtml">here</a>.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">How does a computer get the malware?</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">By visiting sites that ask you to download a third-party plug-in or tool. The malware is called a Trojan horse because it hides within another piece of code to carry out its attack. For example,
the criminals were using a vulnerability in Flash (now fixed by Adobe) so that if you played an infected Flash-based video, it would install the malware.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Protection tips:</p>
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<li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Be careful about the sites you visit.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Don't click on links you receive in shady emails.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Avoid installing software from sites.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Make sure you are running the latest versions of your anti-virus software, browsers and its plug-ins.
</li></ul>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Anti-virus software should catch this malware, but can sometimes fail. The malware can prevent infected machines from downloading security updates to operating systems or updates to anti-virus software
that might help detect the malware and stop it from operating. Often when the DNS Changer virus is downloaded, other types of malware come along with it, making it difficult to clean up a system. Several dozens of computers have already been infected with
this virus at MIT.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">If you’re worried, check that your anti-virus software is up-to-date, and verify that your DNS server settings match what you’d expect for your PC. The IS&T Help Desk (helpdesk@mit.edu) will be
able to help with what to look for.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><a href="https://forms.fbi.gov/check-to-see-if-your-computer-is-using-rogue-DNS">The FBI provides this resource</a> to help you find out if your computer is using a rogue DNS.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><a href="http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Researchers-Discover-Link-Between-TDSS-Rootkit-and-DNSchanger-Trojan-753018/">Read the full story in the news</a>.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">2. Cyber Shopping Risks</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">The Monday after Thanksgiving (today) is known as Cyber Monday, one of the busiest online shopping days of the year.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">The <a href="http://www.nrf.com/">
National Retail Federation</a> reports that almost half of all Americans plan to shop online this season. Unfortunately, just as shoppers hit the Internet to search for deals, cyber criminals are trolling the Web for their next victim. A significant increase
in malicious shopping websites are launched between October and January, according to Webroot, an anti-virus and anti-spyware software company.</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Tips for shoppers:</p>
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<li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Think before you click. Never click on links to unfamiliar websites, especially those provided within emails.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Install security software. Protect your PC with up to date anti-virus programs.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Know the retailer. If unfamiliar to you, look for more information about the company by contacting the Better Business Bureau.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Monitor your credit report. Once a year you can freely check your report to look for suspicious activity on your bank or credit card accounts.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Keep your passwords safe. Never reveal them to anyone and do not have a password that contains commonly known information, such as your birth date.
</li><li style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Only make purchases from secure websites. Secured site web addresses start with "https:"
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">For more tips on how to stay safe while shopping online, visit the FTC site: "<a href="http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/idtheft/idt04.shtm">Fight Back Against Identity Theft</a>."</p>
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<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">===================================================================================</p>
<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial">Read all Security FYI Newsletter articles and submit comments online at http://securityfyi.wordpress.com/.</p>
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