Microsoft and the National Consumer Agency have issued a warning to consumers about a scam that targets people running Microsoft Windows.

The bogus callers, who claim to be from Microsoft, request that users download a file from a website in order to remove a virus supposedly on their computer. This file acts as a trojan horse allowing the scammers access to the consumers computer. From here they can obtain information such as financial details, account logins and passwords etc. In some cases they have also requested credit card details over the phone from people.

If you happen to receive one of these calls the NCA advise that you hang up immediately and report the call to them on 1890 432 432.

A new Trojan which has been reported to sniff out sensitive corporate data has recently emerged.

The Trojan.Spy.YEK registers itself as a system service through an encrypted dll and awaits instructions from a command and control type center. It then uploads the gathered information to an FTP server unknowns to the user. The software can run on all versions of Windows.

Many media organisations are reporting that this Trojan cannot be stopped, however a simple and effective security policy in place could easily thwart malicious software such as this. Most corporate users have no requirement to connect to FTP servers and a simple set of firewall rules disallowing this type of connection would be sufficient to stop this Trojan in it’s tracks.

Malicious software such as this takes advantage of poorly protected networks that do not have specific rules in place that block unnecessary traffic from computer systems.

Scottish man Matthew Anderson,  has pleaded guilty in court to creating viruses during an online hacking spree he carried out with a number of other people located in Finland.

The E-Crime arm of the British police found that the 33 year old from Aberdeenshire carried out the operation by composing emails with attached Trojan horse software and distributed them in a spam like fashion. If a user opened the emails they unwittingly enabled the group who had called themselves m00p complete access to their PC’s. The gang were reported to have targeted hundreds of UK businesses between 2005 and 2006. and had also infected tens of thousands of computers around the world.

“This organised online criminal network infected huge numbers of computers around the world, especially targeting UK businesses and individuals,” said detective constable Bob Burls, from the Police Central e-Crime Unit. “Matthew Anderson methodically exploited computer users not only for his own financial gain but also violating their privacy.”

It is believed that Anderson also activated users webcams to spy on them from time to time.

A new scam that’s popping up online is where hackers send e-mails containing an attachment of a screen saver. A security hole in Microsoft Windows allows these screen savers to install malicious software on your machine. Once this software is installed all keystrokes and online activity will be recorded and forwarded off to unscrupulous individuals who will take over your email or facebook account and even your credit card.

While antivirus programs do keep put a halt to some of these trojans they can only stop the ones that have already been detected. Hackers are constantly innovating and working on new ways to get around antivirus software. Depending on the skills of the hackers they could even access and download all the files on your computer.

Along with keeping your antivirus up to date, common sense also needs to be employed in order to protect yourself from these attacks. Next time you see something that looks good, or looks in some way odd think for a couple of seconds before you click that link. It could save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

Users that are looking to jailbreak their IPhones are being targeted by hackers in an attempt to infect the users with malware.

As IPhone users are awaiting the release of the jailbreak program known as “Greenpoison”, hackers are taking advantage by uploading programs to various torrent websites in a bid to infect users with malware that steals passwords and other information. These programs which are uploaded under the greenpoison name are reported to contain trojans and malware.

Depending on how Lilly Allen gets on with her law suite against Apple after they failed to identify who hacked her computer perhaps users that get infected may be able to bring Apple to court too. More can be found on that story here.

How would you feel about your browsing history being made public on a website? Don’t worry you have the option of paying around $20 to have it removed.

A new Trojan which has originated from Japan known as the Kenzero Trojan pretends to be a legitimate program but unknown to the users monitors all browsing history and makes the information availably publicly on the Internet. Hackers responsible for the Trojan post browsing history, favorites, illegally downloaded porn and clipboard content along with your name and address and other personal details onto the web. They are however kind enough to remove this information for you for a small fee. Otherwise known as ransom-ware this type of software extorts money from people.

The Trojan is reported to be spread mainly through the Winny file-sharing network which currently has close to 200 million users.