Over the past several days more than 10,000 websites have been hit by a sophisticated and fast-acting virus that attempts to install malware on visiting PCs. Between Friday and Sunday night, the number of sites attacked jumped from 1,100 to about 2,500. By Monday afternoon there were more than 10,000 infected sites.
Meanwhile, an e-mail message supposedly sent by the FTC contains spyware and targets corporate and banking executives as well as consumers. The FTC warns that the bogus e-mail looks like an acknowledgment of a complaint filed by the recipient and includes an attachment which can download malicious spyware.
Sen. Mark Pryor (R-AR) has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for companies to install spyware on PCs without consent. Failing to comply could mean hefty fines of up to $3 million. Similar bills introduced in recent years have gone nowhere in the Senate.