Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Malware is absolutely everywhere these days.  Even if you do all the right things like not clicking on links or opening attachments in emails, avoiding bittorents, porn sites and illegal download sites like Limewire (which is full of malware!), not clicking on pop up or banner ads, and being careful… Continue Reading »

Today let’s take a look at botnets.  This is the tool of choice for spammers everywhere.  A botnet is a collection of computers, known as zombies, that have been infected by malware.  The malware enables the criminal in charge of the group, also known as the bot master, to control… Continue Reading »

When a large scale cyberattack began hitting the United States and South Korea over the July 4th weekend, the accusations and speculation regarding who was to blame began flying.  South Korea insisted North Korea must be to blame.  The U.S. wondered if it was the work of Russia or maybe… Continue Reading »

The botnet responsible for the ongoing DDoS attacks on many U.S. Government websites is getting even uglier.  According to security researchers it has been programmed to turn on the computers it’s infected and encrypt and in some cases completely erase all their data. What’s particularly disturbing is that most Korean… Continue Reading »

A Dallas security guard charged with hacking the computer system of the hospital he worked for was busted by a fellow hacker, but didn’t help his case when he posted videos of his exploits on YouTube.  Jesse McGraw, known by the hacker name GhostExodus, posted videos to YouTube in which… Continue Reading »

Spam levels have returned to the level they were at before the shutdown of nefarious ISP McColo, which was known for its acceptance of spammers and scammers as customers.  After the shutdown, spam levels dropped an amazing 75%, largely in part because three botnets were cut off by it: Mega-D,… Continue Reading »

A couple of Texas men forgot that handy tip and it cost them big.  Darrrel and Jack Uselton were big time spammers in 2007, running a botnet that sent out millions of penny stock spams and raking in more than $4 million in the process.  The SEC calls their particular… Continue Reading »