Bin Laden death spawns online scams, malware

As with other global news events, like the Royal Wedding and the recent Japan earthquake, cybercriminals are already coming out in full force to capitalize on news related to Osama bin Laden’s death, an Internet security firm said on Tuesday. With news of bin Laden’s death receiving more than four million page views per second on major news websites, the security firm advised Internet users to use best practices when searching for information online, including:

• Use a trusted security suite – Make sure you are protecting your computer against unknown threats with a comprehensive security solution.
• Put yourself on high alert – Don’t open emails or attachments from people you don’t know, even if it sounds too good to be true. Online criminals commonly use shocking or sensational headlines in emails to lure people into falling for online scams.
• Don’t click on that link – Beware of shortened links found through social networking news feeds – they may be redirecting you to fake websites laden with malicious software. Manually enter website addresses into your browser to make sure you’re getting the news from trusted websites. — Newsbytes.ph