CrossOne Cafe

(Reuters) – Hackers have flooded the Internet with virus-tainted spam that targets Facebook’s estimated 400 million users in an effort to steal banking passwords and gather other sensitive information.

The emails tell recipients that the passwords on their Facebook accounts have been reset, urging them to click on an attachment to obtain new login credentials, according to anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc.

If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicious software, including a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday.

Hackers have long targeted Facebook users, sending them tainted messages via the social networking company’s own internal email system. With this new attack, they are using regular Internet email to spread their malicious software.

A Facebook spokesman said the company could not comment on the specific case, but pointed to a status update the company posted on its web site earlier on Wednesday warning users about the spoofed email and advising users to delete the email and to warn their friends.

McAfee estimates that hackers sent out tens of millions of spam across Europe, the United States and Asia since the campaign began on Tuesday.

Dave Marcus, McAfee’s director of malware research and communications, said that he expects the hackers will succeed in infecting millions of computers.

“With Facebook as your lure, you potentially have 400 million people that can click on the attachment. If you get 10 percent success, that’s 40 million,” he said.

The email’s subject line says “Facebook password reset confirmation customer support,” according to Marcus.

Reported at Reuters.com.

Click to visit Celtic Roots Radio

Are you ready?

WASHINGTON—With his wavy bouffant and medallion necklaces, the Rev. Al Sharpton famously confronted government officials on behalf of black Americans. Now he has found a new role: telling black leaders to quiet their criticisms and give the government a chance.

President Barack Obama has turned to Sharpton in recent weeks toanswer increasingly public criticism in the black community over his economic policy. Some black leaders are charging that the nation’s first African-American president has failed to help black communities hit hard by the downturn, leaving party strategists worried that black Democrats will become dispirited and skip November’s congressional elections.

Sharpton has emerged as an important part of the White House response. On his national radio program, he is directly rebutting the president’s critics, arguing that Obama is right to craft policies aimed at lifting all Americans rather than specifically targeting blacks. One recent on-air fight with Tavis Smiley, a prominent talk show host and Obama critic, grew so heated that it has created a small sensation among black leaders.

“The president does not need to get out there and do what we should be doing,” Sharpton told Smiley during the testy exchange. He argued that expecting Obama to become a “black exponent of black views” was “just stupid,” because it would create fodder for conservatives looking to defeat legislation that could ultimately help blacks.

In an interview, Sharpton added that it was a “double standard” for Smiley and other critics to expect more from a black president than they would demand of a white Democratic president.

Sharpton is an unlikely White House partner, given his racially polarizing history and efforts by Obama’s 2008 campaign team to steer clear of the civil-rights leader.

From FoxNews.com.

Fake antivirus programs that encourage Web users to part with their hard-earned cash and download hoax security software is likely to be the most costly scam of 2010, says McAfee.

According to the security firm, cybercriminals make upwards of $300 million from conning web users worldwide into downloading scareware.

The security firm also said it had seen a 660 percent rise in scareware over the past two years, and a 400 percent increase in reported incidents in the last 12 months.

“Even the savviest of computer users fall victim to online threats because cybercriminals have become so sophisticated,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Labs.

The scareware scam starts with a pop-up that claims the web user’s PC is infected with malware and then prompts the user to purchase the fake ’security software’ which is actually malware in disguise. Cybercriminals also obtain the user’s computer and bank details.

“It’s an incredibly lucrative business for cybercriminals,” added Francois Paget from McAfee Labs.

With this in mind, McAfee has launched the Consumer Threat Alerts program that is designed to warn web users about the latest and most dangerous online threats

McAfee said subscribers can expect to receive periodic email alerts about how to recognise the latest online dangers and tips on how to stay safe.

“We’re giving consumers the ’street smarts’ they need to live their online lives safely,” said Green.

“With education and the right technology, we can all play a part in the fight against cybercrime.”

From an article at PC World.com.

The man who became the face of the Toyota gas pedal scandal this week has a troubled financial past that is leading some to question whether he was wholly truthful in his story.

On Monday, James Sikes called 911 to report that he was behind the wheel of an out-of-control Toyota Prius going 94 mph on a freeway near San Diego. Twenty-three minutes later, a California Highway Patrol officer helped guide him to a stop, a rescue that was captured on videotape.

Since then, it’s been learned that:

— Sikes filed for bankruptcy in San Diego in 2008. According to documents, he was more than $700,000 in debt and owed roughly $19,000 on his Prius;

— In 2001, Sikes filed a police report with the Merced County Sheriff’s Department for $58,000 in stolen property, including jewelry, a digital video camera and equipment and $24,000 in cash;

— Sikes has hired a law firm, though it has indicated he has no plans to sue Toyota;

— Sikes won $55,000 on television’s “The Big Spin” in 2006, Fox40.com reports, and the real estate agent has boasted of celebrity clients such as Constance Ramos of “Extreme Home Makeover.”

While authorities say they don’t doubt Sikes’ account, several bloggers and a man who bought a home from Sikes in 2007 question whether the 61-year-old entrepreneur may have concocted the incident for publicity or for monetary gain.

A man who bought a house in the San Diego area from Sikes in 2007 told FoxNews.com he immediately questioned the circumstances surrounding Monday’s incident.

From an article published Friday, 03/12/10 at FoxNews.com.

Another member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., says he doesn’t know if President Obama is a “citizen.”  Broun’s comments came this week in an interview with host Pete Dominick on Sirius XM radio (click link above).