New spyware program hooks into Mozilla Firefox
Posted by Ryan on July 26th, 2006.
FormSpy (aka FireSpy) is a new spyware program designed to integrate into the Mozilla browser environment. It is being spread by spam email spoofed to appear as a billing issue from Walmart. It was launched on July 24th. The attachment contains a downloader malware agent that can install FormSpy as a Firefox plugin. This new threat can be avoided easily by users avoiding spam email and attachments.
Link: http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldron/archive/2006/07/25/105724.aspx
And so we see the a new item: some programmer made his program integrate into Firefox. Its not the first time malware has hooked into a web browser, but it is the rare that the targeted browser is Firefox. Usually the targeted browser is Internet Explorer
Why is it that the malware writers go after IE? Well, it ships with every computer that has Windows installed. When you look at how many more people use Windows as compared to Macs or Linux, it akes more sense to target a browser that will be found on more computers. And since IE is made by Microsoft, it will only be updated once a month, unless some really bad flaw is found.
So what does this mean for Firefox users? Not much, since it will be patched sooner, rather than later. That’s the good thing about open source programs, anyone can get the code, and patch vulnerabilities when flaws are discovered.
However, the best protection against becoming infected is smart browsing and smart computer use. As one of the GeekU moderators signiture tells us, security is a process, not a product.