A major security alert was today announced as security companies found tens of thousands of sites had been set up to try and coax people into opening the sites and allowing the hackers to install malicious software on their machines.  While the internet has seen many many such attempts it was the sheer scale of this attempt which has concerned many.  So what did they do?

The hackers had acquired tens of thousands of domain names and created a website on each, purely for indexing purposes.  They then chose a few popular keywords, including words which they could make a mark on such as “Christmas”, although they also chose a whole host of very common phrases, which would ensure the sites showed up on search engine enquiries.  They received a whole host of back links by adding thousands of comments onto a whole raft of blogs.  The back links would then insure that the sites were indexed for certain words.

The sites were programmed with a code which only enabled when Google was used, and would scan the IE software used by many to view the web, for security holes.  Once a hole was found they would then install malicious software to monitor, key presses, track and record sites visited and also allow the hackers to log onto your machine and take full control. 

Thankfully this attempt, which was from an array of sites registered in China, has been thwarted but many experts believe that online fraud is now moving onto a new level and it is imperative that all internet users ensure that their security patches and software are up to date.