Google spoofed by a worm
Date: September 20, 2005Source: The Register
By:
P2Load-A modifies the HOSTS file on infected PCs by replacing the original with a file downloaded from a remote website under the control of hackers. When users run a search, the results are normally shown correctly - but sponsored links are different. For some searches, other links appear which have been specified by the creator of this malware, resulting in increased traffic to these websites.
The changes in behaviour happen because users are not getting their results from Google but from a hacker-controlled website based in Germany. P2Load-A also modifies a user's start page. Spanish anti-virus firm Panda reports the page is an almost exact copy of Google, which supports the 17 languages of Google and redirects users even if they make a mistake when entering the address, such as 'wwwgoogle.com'.
"Its [P2Load's] aims are none other than to increase visits to the pages linked by the creator of this malware or earn an income from companies that want to appear in the first few results in computer where the identity of Google has been spoofed," said Luis Corrons, director of PandaLabs. "In both cases, the motivation of the author of this malware is purely financial."
Original article
Add comment
Email to a Friend
