Marketscore spyware poses
dangerous security threat
Marketscore, formerly known as Netsetter, is a new spyware-type
application that is a significant security threat to K-Staters. It is
advertised as an application to "speed up your internet" -- but what
you're not told is that Marketscore secretly intercepts and reroutes your web traffic through its servers,
a technique known as "proxying".
Marketscore then collects, analyzes, and stores your information -- including your eID, passwords, credit card numbers,
and even browser-based e-mail like WebMail and Hotmail -- in spite of the SSL-based encryption that secure websites
normally provide.
For example, anyone with Marketscore on their computer who goes to their online
banking site could have their log-in ID and PIN number stored on
Marketscore's servers.
On campus, the majority of the computers with Marketscore on them got
it because someone installed a peer-to-peer application that was
bundled with Marketscore or Netsetter.
Last Friday, 114 computers on the K-State campus sent web traffic through the Marketscore proxy server,
indicating they are infected with this insidious spyware program.
Also, there were 9,200 visits to WebMail, 2,000 hits to K-State
Online, and 800 hits to KATS from off-campus K-Staters through
Marketscore -- in every case, potentially recording their eID and password.
To determine if your machine has this software installed, run the University of Minnesota's
proxy-check tool.
If Marketscore is on your computer, contact your local support technician to remove it as soon as possible.
Students in the residence halls should contact
Residential Computing.
The most current Symantec AntiVirus (9.0.1) will detect it but cannot remove it, so you need to run
Spybot (www.spybot.info), a free spyware detection-and-removal tool that can remove it.
More information on how to remove Marketscore is at
www1.umn.edu/oit/security/marketscore.html.
—J. Ballard, Computing and Network Services
WebMail trash dump begins Dec. 8
About 25 percent of K-State e-mail messages (over 144 gigabytes) are in trash
folders on the central e-mail server. This equals more than 750 million pieces of paper. K-Staters
need to empty their trash folders.
Beginning Dec. 8, K-State will automatically delete trash that is 14
days old in WebMail trash folders. To learn more about this and other e-mail best practices, see the new
E-Mail Best Practices.
—K-State IT Communications Committee
Phishing attacks continue; don't share your data
Some K-Staters have reported up to 30 phishing attacks per day.
Don't get hooked! When in doubt, don't repond; just delete that e-mail.
See the Nov. 9 article on phishing.
—the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
TechBytes finished for semester;
topics requested for spring
K-State's TechBytes series on information technology has finished for the semester. People who missed previous
sessions can see them in video format from the TechBytes website.
The videos can be viewed using Windows Media Player at 283-, 109-, and 43-kbps band rates.
See the TechBytes website for details and other resources.
Is there an IT tool or resource you'd like to learn more about?
Ideas and presenters for spring 2005 are being sought.
Send suggestions to Cathy Rodriguez (cathyr@ksu.edu) or
Gerry Snyder(gsnyder@ksu.edu).
—G. Snyder, Research and Extension, and
C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
| On the spot: IT questions from K-Staters |
|
Why does my session expire when I try to enroll in KATS?
It's because a lot of people are using KATS to enroll right now. Enrollment began on
Oct 25. Remain patient and wait a few minutes before trying to enroll.
—the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
Got a comment? TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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| Web watch |
Social engineering is "greatest security risk"
Some IT security experts are saying social engineering is "the single greatest security risk in the decade ahead" .
See the Nov. 5 article
at virusthreatcenter.com.
—the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
Find a good site? TellTuesday@ksu.edu.
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