MEDINA, Ohio, November 18 -- Antivirus and security company Thirtyseven4, LLC warns today of the increasing danger of performing online searches for leaked Black Friday ads. It has been observed that cybercriminals, using a technique called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) poisoning, have already begun targeting anxious consumers looking to get a jump start on their day-after-Thanksgiving shopping. SEO poisoning is a technique that exploits weaknesses in how search engines are implemented to get newly created malicious websites listed on the front page of search results.
According to Thirtyseven4 and its partners, users searching the term ‘Best Buy Black Friday 2010 Deals’ within Google may have inadvertently visited a poisoned link that downloaded the fake security product, ‘Internet Security Suite’. “Around this time of year, electronics are always hot ticket items so it’s no surprise that Best Buy was among the first retail chain names used to trick a consumer into downloading malicious software ,” said Steven Sundermeier, Owner of Thirtyseven4. “As the days draw closer to Black Friday, we will certainly see an increase in activity involving these tactics,” concluded Sundermeier.
Thirtyseven4 recommends five simple steps to avoid falling victim to such attacks:
1.When searching for online sales, go to the retail store website by typing in the web address directly in to the browser
2.When visiting a less trusted website for the first time, enable the secure browsing feature of the browser
3.Never click ‘Ok’, ’Yes’, or similar if a message box should appear seeking or giving permission to install some component, object or feature, when visiting unknown websites
4.Make sure that antivirus software is installed and that its’ virus database files are up-to-date
5.Maintain regular operating system updates
A 30 day evaluation license of Thirtyseven4 Antivirus is available at http://downloads.thirtyseven4.com. A free Online Malware Scanner is also available at http://scanner.thirtyseven4.com. For more information contact Thirtyseven4 at 877-374-7581 or online at www.thirtyseven4.com.
About Thirtyseven4:
Born out of a desire to better connect antivirus protection solutions with premium customer support and service, Thirtyseven4, LLC seeks to protect schools, businesses, governmental agencies and home-users with the best antivirus products available. Thirtyseven4 is an American company built on honesty, trust and value for the customer. | 
