Protecting Your PC from Torpig – Your Action Required
Brandeis has recently seen an increase in infections from a very malicious piece of software know as Torpig. The attackers behind Torpig are distributing this nasty program from specially crafted advertisements that appear on legitimate websites. Malicious advertisements have appeared on high profile sites such as newyorktimes.com, facebook.com, and careerbuilder.com.
Torpig searches the infected computer for credentials, accounts and passwords and sends them back to the attacker. It has been responsible for stealing over 500,000 bank account numbers and credit and debit card numbers worldwide.
There are some things that you can do to dramatically reduce your chances of being infected with Torpig, and we are requesting that every member of the Brandeis community follow these recommendations.
RECOMMENDED ACTION FOR YOU TO TAKE:
1. Use Firefox instead of any other web browsers.
2. Download and install the AdBlock Plus Add-on for Firefox.
Click here to see a video on how to install AdBlock Plus.
If you follow these steps you will protect yourself from the major way of getting infected with Torpig and significantly reduce potential risks to yourself and Brandeis.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Dennis Devlin
Chief Information Security Officer
George Moore
Information Security Architect
Brandeis University
1 Comment
[...] suggest strongly that you use Firefox and install Adblock Plus as an add-on. They wish to try to prevent the spread of the Torpig botnet. This is primarily a concern on Windows machines, but you can install Adblock Plus on Macs also and [...]