Easy Computer Repair

Tigger Trojan targets financial information

March 24, 2009 – 8:22 am

The cunning crafters of malicious software (malware) have created a highly sophisticated Trojan-horse program that directly targets the theft of financial information. This malicious program seeks to steal sensitive account information from customers of TD Ameritrade, e-Trade, ING Direct ShareBuilder, Options XPress, Scottrade and Vanguard.  The Trojan takes advantage of a security flaw in Microsoft Windows, which was patched in October, 2008. Some interesting behaviors of this Trojan include: installing itself as a rootkit, making it difficult to detect; disables some two dozen other malware programs, in an effort to lessen the chance the computer user will suspect a problem with their system; disables antivirus and anti-malware software; disables Windows Defender and firewall.  The Trojan then waits until the computer is used to access one of the targeted financial sites.  It then springs into action, recording all keystrokes and taking screen shots.  At some future point, the Trojan relays the captured information to third-party criminals, who will use the captured information for who knows what purpose. 

Are you getting that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach?  Don’t procrastinate!  Take the following steps to help minimize your risk: 1. Keep up-to-date with Windows patches; 2. Enable the Windows firewall or a hardware firewall (router). 3. Use a limited account, instead of an Admin account, for routine tasks (email, browsing, word processing, games); 4. Install reliable antivirus and anti-malware software and keep it updated. 5. Run regular virus/malware scans. 6. Make regular backups of all important data files, photos and email.  It is now clear that malware such as the Tigger Trojan have become very sophisticated. We can assume that this trend will continue, putting our sensitive information even more at risk.  Let one of the highly skilled techs at iNeedTech.com assist you in securing your computer.  Call 1-800-238-1553 and lock the bad guys out of your computer.