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Scammers Baiting Internet Users with Fake Obama Web Sites

by Will Safer on January 21, 2009 at 04:19 PM


If you receive an e-mail or visit a Web page asking you to look at BestBarack.com, JoBarack.com or TheBarackSite.com, just don't do it. According to Panda Security, an Internet security firm, scores of malicious Web sites are running a fake news story entitled "Barack Obama has refused to be a president."

People who go to the sites are asked to download a file, which (of course) is a virus that will turn your computer into a so-called zombie. What is a zombie, you ask? We've got a nice description here, but, basically, a zombie is an infected computer that can be controlled by a far-away hacker. Not nice.

Throughout the presidential campaign and lead-up to the inauguration, enterprising ne'er-do-wells used the names and images of President Obama and John McCain to trick people into downloading viruses or falling for scams.


Just remember to protect yourself with up-to-date anti-virus software and to take great caution in opening or responding to e-mail from people you don't know – especially ones promising lots of money in return for a small investment. [From: Yahoo! News]

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Tags: expire-images2010-1-21, hacker, McCain, Obama, scam, security, top, virus, zombie

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