A malicious program used to create fake YouTube pages for
infecting users is circulating on the web.
PandaLabs, run by
web security firm Panda, has detected YTFakeCreator, a program
used by cyber-crooks to create fake YouTube pages to infect users
with
malware.
Cyber criminals send an e-mail promising a video with
sensational content and encourage users to click a link to watch
the video.
Users reach a fake page which is
similar
to the realYouTube site. They see an error message saying they
can not watch the video as a certain component is missing, a codec
or an Adobe Flash update, for instance.
They are then prompted to download it. On doing so,
they download
malware onto their computers.
YTFakeCreator lets cyber-criminals create these fake YouTube
pages very easily, said PandaLabs.
They can enter the text for the error message displayed by the
web page and define how long it takes the message to appear. The
program also allows them to enter the link to the infected file
downloaded onto the victim's computer, and create a false profile
similar to those on YouTube to pretend the video has been uploaded
by a real user.
The criminal can choose the type of malicious code to be
distributed from these fake pages, such as viruses, worms, adware
and Trojans.
"This type of program has led to increased use of this technique
to infect users," said Dominic Hoskins, country manager at Panda
Security UK. "The fact that the pages used by criminals are very
difficult to distinguish from the legitimate pages helps ensure
that a growing number of users are infected."