Pinoy netizens warned vs 'LizaMoon' web virus

Sen. Edgardo Angara on Tuesday advised Filipino netizens to protect their computer systems following reports of a new virus known as "LizaMoon" affecting millions of Internet users worldwide. Angara, chairman of the Senate committee on science and technology, said LizaMoon installs a malicious code into websites which directs users to a rogue site and installs a virus masking as an antivirus software. As much as four million individual websites have been victimized by the malware, he said. "We must not wait for these kinds of viruses to hit the Philippines and cause harm before establishing security measures —with the speed and pervasiveness of the Internet, this particular malware can reach the country in no time," the senator said in a statement released Tuesday. Earlier, Angara filed Senate Bill No. 52 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2010 which seeks to protect internet users from illegal online activity like fraud, identity theft, hacking, and virus attacks, among many others. Violators shall be punsihed with imprisonment or a fine of at least P50,000. "Nowadays, the vast majority of Filipinos have access to the Internet. We must be diligent and set safeguards to protect them from malicious entities wanting to take advantage," he said. - TJD, GMA News