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Why is Firefox so suceptible to Trojans like Weelsof?

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I've been hit with this trojan several times - with no warnings or popups... Somehow it manages to download an .exe and execute it without asking which would imply it has found a security hole somewhere...

I've been hit with this trojan several times - with no warnings or popups... Somehow it manages to download an .exe and execute it without asking which would imply it has found a security hole somewhere...

All Replies (5)

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See this - Weelsof

Prevention Take the following steps to help prevent infection on your computer:

   Enable a firewall on your computer.
   Get the latest computer updates for all your installed software.
   Use up-to-date antivirus software.
   Limit user privileges on the computer.
   Use caution when opening attachments and accepting file transfers.
   Use caution when clicking on links to webpages.
   Avoid downloading pirated software.
   Protect yourself against social engineering attacks.
   Use strong passwords.
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Hi the-edmeister,

Already done all the above and found/read the article on MS encyclopedia... The point I was raising is that it manages to get in with with no warnings or popups at all - I'd expect some sort of confirmation dialog as it has to download and then execute it's payload.

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hello dawnofclarity, from your system details i've noticed that you're using an outdated version of the java plugin which is highly vulnerable and gets widely exploited in the wild. it can be used for "drive-by-infections", so you can get infected without any further interaction necessary. i guess this is the attack vector in your case.

please download & install the latest java version as soon as possible and generally keep your plugins up to date!

https://www.mozilla.org/plugincheck/

Modified by philipp

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Notification of malware or trojans is the resposibility of anti-malware applcations or anti-virus applications, not a web browser.

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madperson, thanks - I don't have Java 6 installed anymore (moved on to Java 7) so unsure how the old plugins managed to lurk about. Now disabled/uninstalled just in case they are the point of entry.

the-edmeister, I seems you completely missed my point.

Thanks folks, Dawn