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Fake Firefox update bundles Trojan add-on

Spam emails try basic ruse in attempt to fool the clueless

Scammers are attempting to trick Firefox users into downloading backdoored software via spam emails that supposedly advertise an "update" to the open-source browser.

A run of spam emails circulating over the weekend all include links to a download that bundles together a Mozilla Firefox 5.0.1 installer and a password-stealing Trojan horse. As a social engineering ruse it is about as subtle as a brick in the head, but there just may be enough credulous users out there to make the scam work. In reality, Firefox automatically updates itself, a point scammers obviously hope prospective marks do not know.

Scams of this type first punted Microsoft security updates but, over time, they have diversified to embrace a wider range of targets.

Net security firm Sophos detects the malware punted via the fake Firefox attack as Troj-PWS-BSF. It also detects the browser/malware bundle. Other vendors can be expected to follow suit.

A write-up of the scam, complete with extracts of the offending email, can be found in a blog post by Sophos here. ®

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