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A new malware attack exploiting the upcoming and highly anticipated new Harry Potter movie “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is hitting the net.  Using black hat SEO and malicious posts in blog comments, the scammers try to trick fans into clicking on the link, which claims they can watch the new movie online for free.

If it’s clicked they are brought to a site where the old fake codec trick is used.  Victims are told they must download an update before they can view the movie but the update is actually a Trojan that steals personal info, add the system to a botnet and download even more malware.

Speaking of scammers exploiting headlines and hot topics, spam and malware attacks using Michael Jackson’s sudden death hit the net within mere hours after the news hit.  The first wave was in the form of emails that promised important and exclusive info on the pop icon’s death.  The recipients were asked to reply to the message to get the info. This was merely an email harvesting attack.  The second wave included links that claimed to be of videos or photos of Jackson’s body.  When clicked they lead to a site where malware is quietly installed on the victim’s computer in the background.  The most recent attacks involve fake blogs devoted to Jackson.  These blog sites are extremely malicious and install a ton of malware onto visitor’s computers, including the Koobface virus.

To protect yourself simply avoid anything that invites you to watch the new Harry Potter movie for free.  There is absolutely no legal way to do so online.  Also beware of any e-mails/links claiming to offer videos or information of Michael Jackson’s death.  Stick to well known sites for your news.  Common sense is a scammer’s worst enemy!

Read [PCWorld]