In the December 2010 Monthly Malware Statistics report of Kaspersky Lab, over 209 million network attacks were blocked by Kaspersky Lab software. It also detected and neutralized over 196 million malicious programs.

The company reported that cybercriminals are still using the same tactics particularly with social networking services, as well as enticing unwary computer users to download fake antivirus and security software. These attacks have somewhat improved as cybercriminals use new approaches to trick people.

SHORT URLS USED

For attacks using social network sites, cybercriminals have also started to use the shortened URL being offered by such sites as bit.ly and alturl.com. Shortened URLS are already widely used in websites other than Twitter. Twitter became a carrier for these malicious shortened URLs.

Under these circumstances, users who see the shortened URLs could click them and be directed to the corresponding websites, which would remain unknown to the user until the site has been fully loaded.