It's unclear exactly how the sites are getting compromised. Landesman suspects FTP passwords for the sites have been lifted from administrators' computers using key-logging malware.
People who are unfortunate enough to visit the sites won't see anything unusual. But behind the scenes, a PHP script checks their version of Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash, and if either is out of date, hijacks their PCs using known vulnerabilities. If both of those programs are up to date, the script tests to see if the system is vulnerable to several bugs Microsoft has patched in the last few months.
Hijacked machines will be installed with a backdoor that gives the hijackers complete control. They are also equipped with malware that manipulates search results returned by Google.
"The firm has identified 250 versions of scareware, and criminals are thought to earn more than £750,000 each a year. "
£750,000, that’s like $1.2 million. I had no idea their profits were that large; I though maybe they earned a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year. That’s pretty incredible and very scary that so many people are falling for their tricks.
While in a local computer store the other day for an upgrade on one of my systems,
I observed no less than 7 people who brought their systems into the shop to have it “cleaned”
Their fee for that service is $150.00 ( I do it for free at our Senior Center )
I was only in their shop for 45 minutes. :o
)