Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Getting Pinched


Via the Kaspersky Labs blog.

Pinch is a true omnivore – it grabs just about everything it can from the victim machine: the Windows license number, system information, a list of programs installed, as well as ICQ, email and FTP passwords, and passwords saved to Windows Protected Storage.

On the most productive days, the person behind the mass mailings managed to collect up to a hundred logs. And his e-store has a whole bunch of ICQ numbers for sale, presumably stolen from victim machines. He's clearly out to make money – given that malware writers have made the shift from simple disruption to clearly criminal activity, that's no surprise. However, what he maybe doesn't realize is that a careful analysis of Pinch leads to a wealth of information about the author - name, date of birth, town, mobile number and various other personal data.

Good news for those fighting cyber crime, but not so great for those involved in illegal activity.

More here.

Image source: Kaspersky Labs blog

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