September 1st, 2009
Firefox add-on spies on Google usage, search results
Security researchers have intercepted a fake Flash Player update creating a Firefox add-on that spies on a target user’s Google search results.
The malicious Firefox extension, called “Adobe Flash Player 0.2,” injects ads into the user’s Google search results pages and even has the capability to monitor the user’s browsing activities, particularly Google search queries using the Firefox browser.
It then sends the information it gathers to a hacker-controlled server.
Trend Micro has a detailed description of this piece of malware and some insight into why this could become a bigger problem for people migrating towards Firefox in search of better browser security:
We have seen a lot of malware target Internet Explorer in the past. This is probably one of the reasons why a huge number of users are opting to use alternative browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera instead. Though this used to be considered a safe computing practice before, it seems it no longer is with the proliferation of malware targeting the most popular alternative Internet browser — Firefox.
Users should be wary, as always, of downloading updates from unknown sources. They should also note that no browser is safe from malicious attacks as cybercriminals will do just about anything to infect users with their malicious code.
Ryan Naraine is a journalist and security evangelist at Kaspersky Lab. He manages Threatpost.com, a security news portal. Here is Ryan's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
For daily updates on Ryan's activities, follow him on Twitter.
Subscribe to Zero Day via Email alerts or RSS.
