Privacy, Security & Virus Information

Firefox Add-Ons Infect Victim Computers With Trojans

Mozilla have made a recent announcement that they have discovered that two experimental add-ons for the Firefox operating system, Master Filer and the Sothink Web Video Downloader version 4 have been infiltrated with a virus which has infected victim PCs with a Trojan horse virus when either add-on was installed.

Especially worrying for Mozilla was that both of the small-distribution extensions were available for download via Firefox's add-on site, which led computer owners who run Firefox in preference to Microsoft IE can no longer be certain that Firefox will not be susceptible to virus attacks. Needless to say, both of the infected add-ons have since been removed from the list of Firefox opt-ins. Before the presence of the viruses had been picked up on, Mozilla have estimated that Master Filer add-on had been downloaded about 600 times and installed the Bifrose Trojan to the unsuspecting public. The Sothink Web Video Downloader version 4 was much more in demand, having been downloaded about 4,000 times and have slipped in the LdPinch Trojan.

According to the industry security specialists, the malicious add-ons managed to sneak by the solitary and yet to be named malware scanner used by Mozilla. In a classic example of locking the stable door after the Trojan horse has infiltrated around 5,000 computers, Mozilla have announced that they have begun scanning all of their third party add-ons with not one but two additional malware scanners, which are yet to be named.

Firefox have suggested to those people who have installed either of these malicious add-ons rushed to point out that un-installing them will not lead to the removal of the Trojan horses from their system at this stage. In order to say goodbye to these unwelcome guests, computer owners will be required to run a separate antivirus scan to clean their system.

Mozilla have been kind enough to include a list of antivirus software currently known to detect the particular Trojans involved in their most recent post. Mozilla Firefox's embarrassment and their subsequent reaction to the security failure only goes to emphasize why a single anti-virus scanner might not be sufficient as rarely is one program strong enough to pick up on every possible virus. Only the strongest and most versatile anti-virus programs can carry out this task.

 

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