Whilst the populous of Neowin have probably mastered the art of Windows Update it seems like the hordes of myspace users haven't. This week machines that haven't been patched for a WMF (Windows Meta File) have been caught out by an advert that installs spyware onto the users PC.
Those using internet browsers such as Firefox and Opera are safe, but those using IE should really patch up. Microsoft released the patch in January, but a banner advert on myspace is all it takes for those unpatched machines to become infected. US computer security firm iDefense discovered the dangerous banner advert that has been seen on many MySpace pages. The code hidden in the advert exploits the WMF bug which preys on a weakness in the way Windows handles images.
Digital detective work by iDefense uncovered computer servers which logged how many times the adware was installed. Before the servers were shut down they had racked up more than one million installs. This shocking figure gives us an understanding of how many users out there forget to update their computers.
Mr Nigam, Myspace's Chief Security Officer urged MySpace users to follow basic security practices to avoid falling victim to any scam. He said people should update their copy of Windows, install patches for browsers and keep anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date. Sounds pretty simple doesn't it? Wonder who is listening.
View: Myspace
