Hack Warning: Typo Errors Can Make Your Computer Vulnerable

An online security firm, Endgame, has recently discovered a new version of the old "typo squatting" scam. This is the method of buying domain names that look like legitimate websites. Hackers hope that your small keyboard snafu could let them access your computer.

This new scam is designed to install malware on gadgets after you have accidentally typed ".om" instead of ".com" after you've typed in some popular urls on the browser.

Endgame discovered this scam after a company employee incorrectly typed "Netflix.om" rather than Netflix.com when he tried to watch the newest episode of "House of Cards" early this month.

Normally, he should have gotten a DNS resolution error, which would inform him that there is no such domain name. Instead, owing to the "Netflix.om" registration done by a malicious person or entity, the domain name resolved successfully.

The browser of the unsuspecting fellow was redirected a number of times. It eventually landed on a 'Flash Updater' page complete with the annoying scare ware 'pop-ups' which, to the uninitiated, are truly scary.

There are hundreds of such domain names which can compromise your computer and mobile devices. They are all designed to trick you into downloading malware that could destroy your operating system.

Some notable examples are "adidas.om," "adobe.om," "amazon.om," "amazonc.om," and "americanexpress.om." For a more extensive list, please follow this link.

If you are lucky, when you arrive at any one of these sites, the malware won't readily download itself. It might ask you to download a file that appears like it's an Adobe Flash update. Don't ever download this file for it is fake and will proceed to infect your computer or device with spammy software.

Kaspersky Lab, an international software security firm, said that the fake "Flash Updater" will just download a payload called Genieo which will install itself as a browser extension and will cause pop-ups and other nuisance on your device or computer.

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