A week in security (March 20 - 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: How to avoid potentially unwanted programs "ViLE" members posed as police officers and extorted victims Google reveals 18 chip vulnerabilities threatening mobile, wearables, vehicles A look at a Magecart skimmer using the Hunter obfuscator The NBA tells fans about...

CopperStealer Malware Targets Facebook and Instagram Business Accounts

A malware that until now has gone undocumented has been quietly hijacking online accounts of advertisers and users of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Google and other web giants since July 2019 and then using them for nefarious activity, researchers have found. Dubbed CopperStealer, the malware acts...

Billion-dollar search engine industry attracts vultures, shady advertisers, and cybercriminals

Search engines make money by showing users sponsored advertisements—a lot of money. This attracts attention, competition, and plenty who want a piece of the action without doing the actual work or considering the impact to those on the other end of the search bar. Because in the search business,...

Mobile stalkerware: a long history of detection

Recently, we have received an alarming question from many Malwarebytes users, asking, “Do you detect stalkerware?” The answer is an overwhelming, “Absolutely, and for good reason!” Moreover, we have been doing so for a long time, and are expanding our efforts in the months to come. Going back mor...

Awakening the beast: BatMobi adware

On February 12, a patron of the Malwarebytes Forum alerted us of an issue with ad redirects that seemed to come out of nowhere. An outcry from other commenters filled the forum thread, all experiencing the same redirects to the same exact websites. Our web protection team traced the offending...

A user’s right to choose: Why Malwarebytes detects Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs)

Potentially Unwanted Programs PUPs: the name says it all. While the programs themselves might have legitimate uses, their vendors often use inappropriate methods to drive downloads or hide within a program bundle. At Malwarebytes, we feel we have an obligation to help protect our customers from...

Introducing: Malwarebytes Browser Extension

Are you tired of all the unwanted content the world wide web offers up, whether you like it or not? It is our privilege to introduce you to the Malwarebytes Browser Extension BETA. Or, better said, the Malwarebytes Browser Extensions, because we have one for Firefox and one for Chrome. Introducti...

Winning the battle against PUPs on your computer and in court

I know very few people, other than lawyers, that get excited about corporate court cases. But, I want to share with you a recent decision that I believe is cause for every computer user to celebrate. This week, a United States District Court judge ruled in Malwarebytes' favor, dismissing a lawsui...

Malware That Can’t Clean Its Tracks: CCleaner and Ongoing Supply-Chain Attacks

A new malware compromise identified this week was using malware officially signed and provided by its software manufacturer for public download by millions of people. It’s a move that started the week for many organizations in a state of worry. This week, the Cisco Talos research team disclosed...

Solution Corner: Malwarebytes for Android

People have become increasingly reliant on their mobile devices in recent years. Smartphones and tablets have revolutionized daily life. Unfortunately, such rapid growth has also attracted criminals, bringing Android up to par with Windows in terms of infection rates. Android threat landscape A...

Microsoft Blocking Potentially Unwanted Programs

Microsoft has taken steps to address deceptive software, otherwise known as potentially unwanted programs or applications, with new opt-in protections for Windows users in the enterprise. The new protection blocks behaviors such as ad-injection, or the bundling of nuisance programs with software...

Don't Fall for Fake Instagram Desktop Applications Offering 'Image Viewer'

Today, the estimated number of known computer threats like viruses, worms, backdoors, exploits, Trojans, spyware, password stealers, and other variants of potentially unwanted software range into millions. It has ability to create several different forms of itself dynamically in order to thwart...

Don't Install Crap ! Bitcoin Mining malware bundled with Potentially Unwanted Programs

The increasing public attention of Bitcoin did not go unnoticed by Cyber Criminals who have begun unleashing Bitcoin Mining malware. Security researchers at Malwarebytes warned about a new malware threat, in which Bitcoin Miners are bundled with third party potentially unwanted programs PUPs that...