While Apple has built a reputation for protecting its users from viruses that tend to plague the competition, the latest announcement of the coming release of the iPad is not helping to keep that reputation in tact.
According an AFP report, there is much opportunity for hackers and scammers to jump on the iPad bandwagon and lure curious Apple fans into booby-trapped websites that offer false promises of information about the new tablet computer.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, revealed the latest device last Wednesday. The new tablet will feature touch screen capabilities and resembles and oversized iPhone (News - Alert). Shipping worldwide is set to begin in March.
“Even before the first user could buy the latest and upcoming Apple technology, the iPad, cybercriminals are already making profit from its popularity,” said Carolyn Guevarra of computer security firm Trend Micro, in the AFP report.
Much speculation and anticipation was mounting all over cyberspace and throughout the industry as we waited for Apple’s latest creation to be revealed. Once the iPad was introduced, the intense online debate began over the strengths and weaknesses of the device.
“Sadly, this is just the kind of opportunity fraudsters like to exploit by poisoning search terms,” Symantec security expert Candid Wueest told AFP on Friday. “We can also expect to see iPad-related spam and phishing attacks hitting consumers hard over the coming weeks. We’d advise the curious to be on their guard.”
Online searches are affected by hackers and criminals who seek to rig websites with words that are likely to be used as query terms to assure prominent ranking on results pages. Those who search for iPad insights interact with links on trick pages and then their computers are infected with scareware software that tries to get them to pay to fix computer virus problems that don’t truly exist.
While the process is a scam, it is a highly profitable one. The sites actually started capturing unsuspecting visitors the same day Apple announced their creation. This malicious business is truly thriving. Unfortunately for the rest of us – online criminals routinely take advantage of hot topics to lure individuals to trick websites and rake in millions.
Apple and its new iPad have been under extreme scrutiny as industry experts are hoping for a breakthrough and many see the iPad as full of strikes against it. One of the emerging obstacles is the claim by Fujitsu that it actually launched its own “iPad” in 2002. The battle over the name is still ongoing.
According an AFP report, there is much opportunity for hackers and scammers to jump on the iPad bandwagon and lure curious Apple fans into booby-trapped websites that offer false promises of information about the new tablet computer.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, revealed the latest device last Wednesday. The new tablet will feature touch screen capabilities and resembles and oversized iPhone (News - Alert). Shipping worldwide is set to begin in March.
“Even before the first user could buy the latest and upcoming Apple technology, the iPad, cybercriminals are already making profit from its popularity,” said Carolyn Guevarra of computer security firm Trend Micro, in the AFP report.
Much speculation and anticipation was mounting all over cyberspace and throughout the industry as we waited for Apple’s latest creation to be revealed. Once the iPad was introduced, the intense online debate began over the strengths and weaknesses of the device.
“Sadly, this is just the kind of opportunity fraudsters like to exploit by poisoning search terms,” Symantec security expert Candid Wueest told AFP on Friday. “We can also expect to see iPad-related spam and phishing attacks hitting consumers hard over the coming weeks. We’d advise the curious to be on their guard.”
Online searches are affected by hackers and criminals who seek to rig websites with words that are likely to be used as query terms to assure prominent ranking on results pages. Those who search for iPad insights interact with links on trick pages and then their computers are infected with scareware software that tries to get them to pay to fix computer virus problems that don’t truly exist.
While the process is a scam, it is a highly profitable one. The sites actually started capturing unsuspecting visitors the same day Apple announced their creation. This malicious business is truly thriving. Unfortunately for the rest of us – online criminals routinely take advantage of hot topics to lure individuals to trick websites and rake in millions.
Apple and its new iPad have been under extreme scrutiny as industry experts are hoping for a breakthrough and many see the iPad as full of strikes against it. One of the emerging obstacles is the claim by Fujitsu that it actually launched its own “iPad” in 2002. The battle over the name is still ongoing.
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