The race for new technological advances is perhaps the most chased after and turning into a complete new religion for the techies as well as the Giants vying to get the new cool advancements under their banner. Well, wherever there is religion there is also a concept of evil and in our case the race for the crown of hell is also fired up as the malware Satans and Lucifers are continuing to grow stronger feeding on the souls of careless internet users.

Malware are spreading like a disease these days to the extent that several web users can be ensnared by computer spy software or a keystroke logger (mobistealth keylogger) while attempting to get their regular downloads, risking all their personal information. It has been found out that a new strain of malware, which is a variant of the Zeus Trojan, is posing a grave threat to Gmail and Facebook users.

Zeus Trojan: Hades got appointed the new guard of our social media

Excuse me for the odd titles but with Zeus Trojan attacking the Giants of our virtual world, I can’t help but notice that there is a Greek mythological feel to this issue. Anyhow, to ThreatMetrix’s credit is figuring out the threat that Facebook and Gmail users face from this new malware strain while the company has been known to provide integrated cybercrime prevention solutions.

This Trojan turns the Gmail and Facebook login pages into snares meant to get credit card information. It does so by putting forth the regular login pages and then prompting users to enter their credit card information. Once the user has logged in, duplicitous web pages open up containing user’s personal information and requesting credit card credentials putting up a trusted Facebook or Gmail mask.

Identified as a variant of the peer to peer version of the infamous Zeus Trojan, it evokes escalated danger for the concerned users because of sly tactics used by the malware targeting napping users who are attempting to access their account and see the regular login page, which alone is the guarantor of safe functionality.

Therefore, it is only natural for the plethora of users, possibly distracted by a multitude of personal issues while accessing their accounts to fall for the fake pages that their ostensibly normal login pages have led up to. Not to mention the updates that sites like Facebook come up with on a regular basis, so for an average user bugged by such updates, the difference is really hard to tell.

Cash flows in the virtual world

According to the Chief Technology Officer at ThreatMetrix, the cybercriminals are growing to supersede the auto-detection routines regarding cybercrime and considering the way social media sites are monetizing their platforms like Facebook Credits and Google Checkout. In this vein, wherever online transactions are processed or businesses are functioning, the concerned developers and users need to focus a lot more on security as the existing threats may very well be way beyond our perceptions.

The way Zeus Trojan has put the very heart of our major online social interaction platforms in jeopardy should be an eye opener. If Giants like Facebook and Gmail are susceptible to such dire attacks we should reconsider our casual attitude towards online activities. This attack also calls for greater security measures from Facebook, Gmail and other sites looking forward to monetize their platforms.

This guest post was written by Natalia David who has been a regular contributor as tech writer, expert for some time now. Her work has received great appreciation from readers who turn to her to keep themselves updated with the latest happenings in tech world. You can also follow her on twitter @NataliaDavid4.