Dan Kaminsky a security researcher in collaboration with Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and other companies thwarted a major attack on the internet by quickly releasing patches simultaneously to avoid a major flaw in an important protocol . It is certainly a happy news though the personal data and finances of consumers are still under online threat of bigger, worse botnets. The current economic downturn is further favoring the scammers to exploit the security holes in trusted sites.

Malware jumped after the credit crisis forced the closing and consolidation of banks and other companies starting in the early fall. One report found a direct correlation between the fall of the stock market and the rise in malware. The targeted attacks include fake antivirus software scams that trick consumers into making an online transaction and phishing e-mails aimed at people whose bank had merged with another one, like Chase and Washington Mutual.

Dan, director of penetration testing for IO Active, had warned security software vendors in March about the problem with the Domain Name System that translates Web addresses into numerical Internet Protocol addresses. So on July 8, vendors released their patches in an unprecedented, synchronized effort. While the efforts may have staved off a complete shutdown of the Internet, the flaw was still exploited in small, random attacks after the patches were released, Kaminsky said.

Virus writers are still penetrating popular sites like Facebook. They lure victims with their supposed videos and spread Koobface virus, while another worm on Facebook also uses something  like a video link to get people to download dangerous code. Thats why Facebook was also forced to suspend some applications after its developers couldn’t maintain privacy settings set by users and somehow exposed private data. Researchers estimate that as much as 85 percent of malicious data is now distributed through Web apps.

Botnets, particularly Storm,threaten the Internet, by turning millions of innocent computers into zombies that transfer spam and other attacks. The Storm, is replaced by Srizbi and others. However, officials were able to shut down a major botnet hoster, McColo, in November, which led to a sharp drop in spam, at least for a while.

The pity is that PCs aren’t the only targets for malicious hackers. Threats against newer gadgets and devices have considerably risen this year. Apple was forced to fix several loopholes that would allow people to compromise a password-protected iPhone and  view incoming SMS messages, launch applications, or phone calls.

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