Halloween Scams | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Attackers are targeting people searching for last-minute Halloween costume ideas, reported CyberDefender on Oct. 29. The Internet security vendor, along with other firms like Blue Coat and BitDefender, warned users about the dangers of searching online for Halloween-related topics. "Popular search terms have always been a target for cyber-criminals," said Achal Khetarpal, director of CyberDefender Research Labs. CyberDefender identified a fake anti-virus Trojan downloader infecting pages related to Halloween costume searches. When users visit these pages, the fake anti-virus installer hijacks the user's web browser and initiates a malicious process, making the PC sluggish and exposing personal data. One form of this attack, identified by Panda Labs, displays a fake video player page and prompts users to download a codec to play the video. "Popular search terms reflect current user interests, making them lucrative targets," Khetarpal explained. Criminals create p