Malware could strike thousands on Monday
WASHINGTON – Despite repeated alerts, tens of thousands of Americans may still lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware that could have taken over their machines more than a year ago.
The warnings about the Internet problem have been splashed across Facebook and Google. Internet service providers have sent notices, and the FBI set up a special website.
According to the FBI, the number of computers that probably are infected is more than 277,000 worldwide, down from about 360,000 in April. About 64,000 still-infected computers are probably in the United States.
People whose computers are still infected Monday will lose their ability to go online, and they will have to call their service providers for help deleting the malware and reconnecting to the Internet.
U.S. mortgage rates fall to new record low
WASHINGTON – Fixed U.S. mortgage rates fell again to new record lows, providing prospective buyers with more incentive to brave a modestly recovering housing market.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.62 percent. That’s down from 3.66 percent last week and the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, slipped to 2.89 percent, below last week’s previous record of 2.94 percent.
The rate on the 30-year loan has fallen to or matched record low levels in 10 of the past 11 weeks. And it’s been below 4 percent since December.
Smartphone app steals user’s contacts
SAN JOSE, Calif. – An application available for Apple and Google’s mobile operating systems steals the user’s contacts list for the purposes of text messaging spam, according to a report issued Thursday that claims it is the first malware to appear in Apple’s App Store.
The app, called “Find and Call,” passes itself off as a mobile phone book application, but users who download and use the app will have all of their contacts uploaded to a remote server, according to a post from Kaspersky Lab security blogger Denis Maslennikov. Once the app uploads the user’s contacts, it sends text messages to all of the contacts that appears to be from the infected phone’s number, with a link to download the app.
This type of malicious software, called a trojan, has appeared in Android’s Google Play store before, Maslennikov reported, but “it’s the first case that we’ve seen malware in the Apple App Store,” he wrote.
Google phasing out iGoogle, other services
SAN FRANCISCO – Google is phasing out a service that allows millions of people to personalize its home page with applications such as weather updates and stock quotes.
The customization service, known as iGoogle, will be turned off in November 2013. The mobile version of iGoogle will be discontinued at the end of this month.
Google Inc. disclosed its plans this week. It’s being swept out as part of a periodic housecleaning that has seen Google scrap more than 30 products since co-founder Larry Page became CEO 15 months ago.
Google also is preparing to jettison several other products, including a little-used online video service that the company started before it bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.76 billion.