A ‘spambot’ named Onliner has reportedly collected personal information tied to 711 million email addresses and dumped them on a server.<\/p>\n
The spambot was designed to infect devices, spreading malicious software that could steal valuable personal information, as well as discharge viruses and spam\/junk emails. Spam emails are not only a nuisance but they often carry phishing software; enticing users to click on seemingly harmless links that hide further malware. From there, cybercriminals can trick users into revealing more information, and sometimes bank details directly, as well as taking control of computers.
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If an email looks a bit off, or offers something that sounds too good to be true (think back to the age old online banners “Congratulations, you are our 1,000th<\/sup> visitor! Click here to claim your \u00a31,000 prize!”), it’s probably wise to take caution and not open or click on anything in the email.<\/p>\n The website HaveIBeenPwned.com <\/em>(HIBP) allows users to quickly check if their email addresses have been compromised by simply searching it through the websites database. The world ‘pwned’ is a play on the word ‘owned’, signifying being beaten. To date, the website has reportedly found 233 pwned websites and a whopping 4,729,225,727 pwned accounts.<\/p>\n However, even HIBP website owner Troy Hunt was apparently taken by surprise by the colossal data breach, noting the leak was: <\/p>\n