Malware uses web apps to turn PCs into conduits for attacks – Engadget, Engadget

        

It’s not justbotnetsthat can hijack PCs for nefarious ends.MicrosoftandCisco’s Talosresearchers have identified a new malware strain, Nodersok (or Divergent), that uses web apps to turn systems into proxies for malicious internet traffic. The attack gets victims to run an HTA (HTML application) file through a rogue ad or download, launching a complex sequence of events. JavaScript in the HTA downloads a separate JavaScript file, andthatin turn runs a PowerShell command that downloads and runs a whole host of tools, including ones that disable Windows Defender, ask for more control, capture data packets and create the intended proxy.