Firefox add-on spies on Google searches
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Spyware detected by web security researchers as TSPY_EBOD.A has been infecting Firefox web browsers with an add-on that appears to be an Adobe Flash Player update spread via forum posts.
According to security researchers at Trend Micro, the add-on injects ads into Google search results pages and monitors a user's Google search activity within Firefox, which it sends to a site in the jupdate.com domain.
One of the reasons users have sought out alternative browsers like Firefox, Chrome and Safari is because of malware attacks targeting security holes in Internet Explorer.
Firefox users also seem to prefer the browser for its advanced privacy settings. But this desire for online privacy could potentially undermine Firefox users' online security and leave them vulnerable to cybercriminals who would spy on their activities and attempt to steal their personal information.
Mozilla, the open source project that develops Firefox, recently surveyed Firefox users who chose not to upgrade from Firefox 2 to Firefox 3, even though Mozilla will no longer support version 2 with security patches.
Many of those users cited a feature in Firefox 3 that brings up bookmarks in the address bar.
Mozilla said "a lot of people contacted us to say that they had certain bookmarks they didn’t really want to have displayed."
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