Earlier this week, Florida-based Sunbelt Software announced that its researchers had discovered a new spyware distribution that installs itself via an Internet Explorer security exploit and is powered by the CoolWebSearch spyware application.
“It’s a little Trojan that sits there and [reads data stored in] the Protected Storage area,”.
Windows XP uses the Protected Storage area to record sensitive information, such as your browser’s AutoComplete histories for URLs, passwords that you instruct IE to save and enter automatically, and data you submit to Web sites on SSL-protected forms.
Users of alternative browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, do not store their autocomplete information in the Protected Storage area, and are therefore are immune to this Trojan horse.
(Editor’s Note: Users of alternative operating systems, such as Linux, are also immune — regardless of the browser they use.)
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Earlier this week, Florida-based Sunbelt Software announced that its researchers had discovered a new spyware distribution that installs itself via an Internet Explorer security exploit and is powered by the CoolWebSearch spyware application.
“It’s a little Trojan that sits there and [reads data stored in] the Protected Storage area,”.
Windows XP uses the Protected Storage area to record sensitive information, such as your browser’s AutoComplete histories for URLs, passwords that you instruct IE to save and enter automatically, and data you submit to Web sites on SSL-protected forms.
Users of alternative browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, do not store their autocomplete information in the Protected Storage area, and are therefore are immune to this Trojan horse.
(Editor’s Note: Users of alternative operating systems, such as Linux, are also immune — regardless of the browser they use.)
[ Full Story ]