22 July 2011 | Category: Online
More than 1 million internet users are in for an unpleasant surprise as Google prepares to warn them of a virus that intercepts their web searches.
The virus hijacks search results and redirects users to unwanted websites, which pay cyber criminals for traffic. Affected Google users will be greeted by a yellow warning above their search results.
Google security engineers say the virus infects computers through fake anti-virus software, or scareware, and takes advantage of a Windows vulnerability in order to hijack web searches. The virus was discovered after Google shut down one of its data centers, temporarily rerouting search traffic through another data center. Still, one million computers attempted to connect to the closed data center.
Investigations by Google discovered a unique traffic signature for the malware, and the company will take steps to help infected users remove the software from their computers. In the meantime, the company hopes that posting the warning will help to keep their users' search information safe.
The warnings from Google come as internet providers are becoming more aggressive towards the foiling of cyber criminals on an international level.