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Especially in today’s economy, most people are searching for
deals. Whether it is a buy-one-get-one at the grocery store, or
an online coupon that offers fifty percent or more off your next
restaurant visit, most people are only too happy to snap up a
bargain for something they would normally purchase. When it
comes to acquiring software for the home computer, this rule is
even more prevalent. Why pay for the cow, when they’re giving
the milk away for free, right? In the case of recognized vendors,
such as Filezilla or Linux, not to mention CNet and Tucows,
these sites either own the software they distribute freely, or
else they vet any vendors promoted on their sites. Unfortunately,
when it comes to freeware, there are a number of purveyors who
are not offering their software out of the goodness of their
hearts.

If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Case in point: Last November, an FBI investigation led to the
arrest of six cybercriminals in Estonia. The six were implicated
in a worldwide criminal enterprise that resulted in the infection
of more than 570,000 computers. In this particular case, the
group’s online advertising scam took advantage of vulnerabilities
in the Microsoft Windows operating system to install malicious
software on the victims’ computers. The software also turned off
antivirus updates and changed the way in which the hacked
computers reconciled website addresses. Victims’ computers were
then reprogrammed to use rogue DNS servers owned by the attackers
which redirected the affected computers to fraudulent websites
controlled by the group. The victims were not only scammed out
of some $14 million, but their very access to the Internet was
virtually hijacked by the group.

More frightening still is the fact that online scams like this
happen to millions of unsuspecting consumers every day. Whether
the intent is to deliver malware, spyware or some form of virus,
the very nature of the web allows mischief to spread far and
wide with relative ease.

Only recently, Consumer reports stated that, “Malicious software
infections cost consumers $2.3 billion in 2011.” They also
pointed out the fact that one third of households surveyed had
experienced a malicious software infection in the past year.
Even more ominous is the fact that in the US alone, 1.3 million
PCs were replaced in 2011 due to malware.

Does WWW stand for Wild, Wild West?

Why are criminals and other online miscreants able to inflict
such damage to so many people with relative ease? The culprits
cited as aiding and abetting the underworld can’t be found on a
“Most Wanted” poster. That’s because they aren’t people. The
real accomplices in cybercrime are poor virus protection and
freeware. When you bear in mind that the Internet is in a sense
as free and unfettered as the Wild, Wild West ever was, it
should come as no surprise that criminal elements have been
quick to capitalize on this electronic frontier town. The
problem with the web is that unlike Dodge City, there is no
sheriff in town other than the antivirus software on your
machine. This same software can easily be circumvented with one
Trojan horse planted inside your computer via freeware. Once
your computer has been breached, there is no electronic posse
that is going to pursue the outlaws who have infected your
machine.

So, the first step to taking a bite out of cybercrime is to
understand just how prevalent it is. What most people don’t
realize is the fact that the total amount of money lost in
cybercrime in 2011 ($338 billion) dwarfs that of the
profits of illicit drugs ($288 billion). More shocking still
is the fact that in the past year alone, more than 431 million
adults were victims of cybercrime. While the number of violent
crimes in the US declined 6.4 percent in 2011 according to the
FBI, cybercrime has risen dramatically.

According to Mashable.com, “Five years ago there were only
92,000 strains of malware cataloged worldwide. This figure rose
to 14 million by 2008 and 60 million by 2010.”

Their report goes onto say that you can purchase bank details
for accounts for $80 to $700. You can hire someone to design and
publish a fake online store for between $30 and $300. A credit
card-cloning machine costs $200 to $1,000, and an actual fake
ATM, which steals valuable credentials from anyone who uses it,
can be bought for a mere $3,500. The cybercrime industry acts
just like any legitimate one, developing providers who cater to
buyers needs and strive to build market share.

More frightening still is the fact that so many consumers make
these crimes so easy to commit. Even though most web surfers are
familiar with such threats as computer viruses and malware, more
than forty percent of those surveyed by Consumer Report admitted
to not having an up-to-date antivirus program. And an even higher
percentage admitted to employing weak passwords. Add to this, the
fact that cybercrime has now gone mobile where there is even
less security and you have to ask yourself why isn’t everyone up
in arms over the situation?

What it boils down to is this:

1. Cybercriminals are organized and motivated to engage in
cybercrime because it is easy to get away with, and hard to
prosecute.

2. Consumers who routinely triple lock their doors and have
burglar alarms on their cars for the most part leave their
computers and cellphones unlocked, or with the key under the
doormat.

3. While organizations like the FBI occasionally get involved in
high profile cases such as the Estonian Connection, policing the
internet at the local level is for the most part left to local
law enforcement, many of whom have little or no facilities to
deal with this growing menace.

Far from free, that gift horse could well turn around and bite
you. In short, since it has been left to consumers to defend
themselves from phishing, password cracking, Trojan horse
hacking, and all but invisible cybercriminals, my advice is to
think twice before accepting most freeware. And for God’s sake,
get some decent antivirus software. Unless you like buying a
new computer every year.

About The Author
Carl Weiss is president of W Squared Media Group and co-host of
the weekly radio show Working the Web to Win, which airs every
Tuesday at 4pm on BlogTalkradio.com He also owns and operates
jacksonville-video-production.com and is a cutting edge
viral video producer.

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Article source: http://www.sitepronews.com/archives/2012/apr/25.html