Be Careful How You Type

Security researchers have discovered an attack aimed at would-be visitors to Google.com, one that attempts to download malicious programs onto the computers of people who simply mistype the search giant's Web address.

According to security specialist F-Secure, unsuspecting Web surfers may be bombarded with various types of Trojan horse threats, spyware and backdoors when they go to "Googkle.com." The scheme is meant to take advantage of sloppy or hurried typists, given that on most keyboards the letter "k" key sits next to the "l" needed to type "Google."

In its advisory, F-Secure strongly advises people not to go to Googkle.com. People who do so will see two pop-ups linked to Web sites that install the Trojan programs. One of the programs is a phishing-style Trojan that attempts to garner individuals' online banking information, while another drops phony antivirus alerts on the victim's desktop that attempt to lure people to other infected Web sites.

While relatively low-tech in terms of its social engineering, the URL mistype attack is an approach that has long been incorporated by many different kinds of Internet opportunists, from legitimate companies trying to steal traffic from their rivals or simply piggyback on the success of larger companies, to criminals looking to misrepresent themselves and trick consumers into handing over personal data.

In one of the most famous instances of URL deception, the site hosted at Whitehouse.com for several years was an advertisement for pornography, not a link to the office of the president, whose official site is Whitehouse.gov.

On another subject, tomorrow officially begins my six month art show tour season. Today is my travel day so I will be leaving in a few hours. I plan to continue both my blogs this year while traveling. The problem is, of course, getting an Internet connection. While I can write my blogs on my laptop, transmitting them while on the road can sometimes be tricky.

I usually try to stay at hotels that have wireless Internet connections, but am not always successful. For the next five weekends, I will be staying in my travel trailer in Leavenworth where I have no connectivity. So, while I will still be writing, you may not see them posted to the net or your e-mail box until I get back home. Thanks for your understanding.