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Avira survey: only one out of every two people know the danger of Drive-by-Downloads
Tue, 19 August 2008
Using alleged harmless websites, offenders smuggle malware, such as viruses, Trojan Horses and Adware, unnoticed on to computers. However more than half of the internet users have never heard of Drive-by-Downloads.
Tettnang, 19 August 2008 – Phishing, Pharming, Spoofing and Drive-by-Downloads: the possibilities for money-grabbing online scams to spy on personal surfing data are increasing. Eleven percent of users underestimate the danger of falling for online scams because "they do not visit any obscene internet pages". This is a big mistake as it only needs the user to surf on an alleged harmless internet site, the opening of an e-mail or just clicking of a popup in order to infect the computer with dangerous malware. In their most recent survey, the protection experts from Avira have posed the "moral issue of the month" to 10,390 visitors on www.free-av.de: "In all honesty, are you really aware of the risk of Drive-by-Downloads?"
More than half the people answered this question with a "No": 54 percent stated that they had never even heard of it. Tjark Auerbach, founder and CEO of Avira states "At present Drive-by Downloads are one of the greatest threats in the internet. Using Drive-by-Downloads, criminal manipulators spy for specific local protection gaps in the browser or in the installed software. Unnoticed, they install malware onto the computer in order to spy for personal data". With the help of so-called "social engineering tactics" the internet criminal steers the user to specially prepared pages. These are often reached via web offers promising up-to-the-minute news, low priced software, copies of current cinema films or links of an erotic nature. In doing this, the intruder covers up the damaged code in areas of the web not controlled by the user, e.g. in banner ads or widgets. In the not too distant past even popular pages from the mass media were unwillingly mutated by malware smugglers. Criminals frequently target smaller, badly maintained internet sites and implant evil JavaScript using the SQL injection, i.e. the smuggling of alien contents in the underlying database during web display. The JavaScript ensures the loading of the infected pages and installation of the Trojan Horse.
Tjark Auerback adds: "In order to protect against Drive-by-Downloads, browser, anti-virus and operating system updates should be regularly installed. Another recommended measure is to block active content in the browser settings. With active contents there is a danger that spyware or illegal diallers are installed on the PC. Another important factor is to maintain a healthy suspicion when surfing the World Wide Web. Just as important - carry out regular data backups!"
The heuristic virus detection method AHeAD (Advanced Heuristic Analysis and Detection) from Avira already detects unknown malware by their function, i.e. before special detection patterns are created against the specific malware and a virus protection update it is produced. The heuristic module sends alerts when HTML files or script files which have coded information with suspicious functions, offering an additional firewall and protection against Drive-by-Downloads. An analysis is carried out which is based on the combination of a file, the appearance, the series of significant code sequences and special patterns of behaviour. Suspicious functions are, for example, the download of Trojan Horses, a link to other infected pages, spying on the user or the forging of content of bank pages. Tjark Auerback says: "Due to the repeated incursions on web servers, administrators should also examine their internet pages for weak points. Users should maintain a healthy suspicion and not open attachments in e-mails or links from questionable senders".
People requiring protection from drive by downloads can obtain a yearly licence of Avira AntiVir Premium for € 19.95. In addition to the well-proven basic protection, this software offers WebGuard which examines http-based internet traffic for infection, automatically blocks phishing and malware URLs and therefore protects against Drive-by-Downloads.
About Avira
About Avira
Avira is a leading worldwide provider of self-developed protection solutions for professional and private use. The company belongs to the pioneers in this sector with over twenty years experience.
The protection experts have numerous company locations throughout Germany and cultivate partnerships in Europe, Asia and America. Avira employ more than 180 employees at their main office in Tettnang on Lake Constance and is one of the largest employers in the region. There are around 250 people employed worldwide whose commitment is continually being confirmed by awards. A significant contribution to protection is the Avira Antivir Personal which is being used by private users a million times over.
Well-known listed companies as well as educational organizations and public employers belong to the list of national and international customers. In addition to the protection of the virtual environment, Avira cares for more protection and safety in the real world by promotion of the Auerbach Trust. The Auerbach Trust of the founder of the company promotes common and social projects as well as the arts, culture and science.
Company contact:
Avira GmbH
Elisabeth Rothbart
Lochhamer Schlag 5a
D-82166 Gräfelfing/München
Telephone: +49 (0) 89 8583 639 17
Telefax: +49 (0) 89 8583 639 20
E-mail:
Contact for the press:
LEWIS Global PR
Korinna Dieck
Baierbrunner Str. 15
D-81379 München
Telephone: +49 (0) 89 1730 19 51
Telefax: +49 (0) 89 1730 19 99
E-mail:
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