Social Content and Networks

Here are some more ways for cyber-criminals to attack the unwary. That's why it's essential to employ a proactive defense if you engage in wide-ranging Web travels.

Booby-trapped user contributed content

Booby-traps set using user-contributed content — blog comments, images, videos, links, etc. — on social networking sites like YouTube, Twitter, Blogger, Facebook, etc. now account for over 20% of Web attacks. [more]

Instant messaging, IRC and P2P file-sharing networks

Many social networks create a two-way connection with your computer. That exposes it to external attacks via those networks. [more]

These three Internet services rely on cozy connections between your computer and other computers on the Internet. If you use them, the special peer-to-peer software that you install makes your machine more vulnerable to hostile exploits. Just as with email, the most important thing to be wary of is attachments and website links. [news] [more news]

It's safer to just stay away from any of these services. However, you can defend your machine against these vectors. Antivirus, anti-Trojan and anti-malware software helps. Special blocking software has begun to appear, like IMsecure from Zone Labs.