Sunday, October 13, 2024
HomeHacksBeware - Hackers using Search Engine Optimization Techniques to Distribute Fake Windows...

Beware – Hackers using Search Engine Optimization Techniques to Distribute Fake Windows Movie Maker

Published on

Malware protection

Scammers distributing a fake version of the most famous windows movie editor(Windows Movie Maker) targetting monetary benefits. Scammers used blackhat SEO techniques to boost the search engine results of their website.

If you search with Google or Bing for the keywords “Movie Maker” and “Windows Movie Maker”, the website windows-movie-maker.org that spreading modified Windows Movie Maker comes first.

We have checked the website statistics with Alexa it shows a rapid growth curve and it listed among top 15k most visited websites in the world.

ESET detected the scam as Win32/Hoax.MovieMaker and reported to Google and Microsoft about the fraudulent nature of the website.It ranked as number one threat in Israel and number third as worldwide.
- Advertisement - SIEM as a Service

Also Read New Fake Email Phishing Scam Attack LinkedIn Users – Beware

How it works – Fake Movie Maker

Windows Movie Maker provided by Microsoft for free, but the fake version continues to repeatedly prompt users to purchase a full version. It won’t allow users to save their work and prompts to purchase a full version to make this feature available.

Scammers charging $29.95 after 25% discount for the fake upgrade on their payment website.

Poisoning the most searching keywords such as movie maker, an attacker can achieve the maximum conversion rate of their infections which may lead to gather some useful information about Victims.

Unlike traditional threat spreading methods like Email based malspam, the attacker using specific sets of search keywords which will query by targets using search engines such as Google and Bing.

Common defences

  • Use a reputable security suite.
  • CIA cycle(Confidentiality, integrity, and availability).
  • Make sure that software you are purchasing is a legitimate one.
  • Don’t save your card information on any websites.
  • Ensure it is a legitimate website before purchasing any products.

Indicators of compromise

  • Installers/droppers:

1060D7935EADB8AAD06EDD1BEBFBF0FD3F7356D8
4F91C0F1AF523B914BA319A7CA02FF79CD02ED6F
6E57AC0812DE0D473DE669CBBAAEF1903995E59F

  • Variants of hoax app:

3886F28150EC74CC61B7A736147B6307A266B0B3
3F0D346FF54A62C2F6E4F7B348D68D0D6E27B981
529017D113BDCECAF1B1FC4DF9555518251A8C7A

Gurubaran
Gurubaran
Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security. He has 10+ years of experience as a Security Consultant, Editor, and Analyst in cybersecurity, technology, and communications.

Latest articles

Threat Actor ProKYC Selling Tools To Bypass Two-Factor Authentication

Threat actors are leveraging a newly discovered deepfake tool, ProKYC, to bypass two-factor authentication...

Mozilla Warns Of Firefox Zero-Day Actively Exploited In Cyber Attacks

A critical use-after-free vulnerability affecting Firefox and Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) is being...

SpyCloud Embeds Identity Analytics in Cybercrime Investigations Solution to Accelerate Insider and Supply Chain Risk Analysis & Threat Actor Attribution

IDLink, SpyCloud’s new automated digital identity correlation capability, is now core to its industry-leading...

Abusix and Red Sift Form New Partnership, Leveraging Automation to Mitigate Cyber Attacks

The agreement has marked over 600,000 fraudulent domains for takedown in just two months...

Free Webinar

Protect Websites & APIs from Malware Attack

Malware targeting customer-facing websites and API applications poses significant risks, including compliance violations, defacements, and even blacklisting.

Join us for an insightful webinar featuring Vivek Gopalan, VP of Products at Indusface, as he shares effective strategies for safeguarding websites and APIs against malware.

Discussion points

Scan DOM, internal links, and JavaScript libraries for hidden malware.
Detect website defacements in real time.
Protect your brand by monitoring for potential blacklisting.
Prevent malware from infiltrating your server and cloud infrastructure.

More like this

Telegram Bot Selling Phishing Tools to Bypass 2FA & Hack Microsoft 365 Accounts

A newly discovered phishing marketplace, ONNX Store, empowers cybercriminals to launch sophisticated attacks against...

Mobile Device Management Vendor Mobile Guardian Hacked

 Mobile Guardian, a leading Mobile Device Management (MDM) vendor, experienced unauthorized access to its...

Hunt3r Kill3rs Group claims they Infiltrated Schneider Electric Systems in Germany

The notorious cybercriminal group Hunt3r Kill3rs has claimed responsibility for infiltrating Schneider Electric's systems...