Curious “Twilight” Enthusiasts a Target for Cybercriminals

CULVER CITY, Calif., Nov. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

               The next film in the popular "Twilight" series is bound for box
               office success, and "Twihards" everywhere are on the prowl for
               any details they can find online about "Twilight: Breaking Dawn -
               Part 1." Savvy cybercriminals know curiosity may overcome caution
    WHAT/WHY:  when it comes to the supernatural series.

               Norton has already found that many common searches related to the
               movie are returning malicious results. When clicked, these
               "poisoned" links can automatically put viruses, keylogging
               programs (where criminals can monitor everything you type), and
               other nasty infected software on your smartphone, computer or
               tablet that can cause endless days of trouble. Not to mention
               leaving your bank account as drained as a vampire's victim.

               Common searches that are turning up poisoned results tend to be
               for photos, trailers, clips, casting information and plot details
               on the series.

               Top search terms that we've already seen returning poisoned
               results include:

              -- "Nude pictures of Taylor Lautner"
              -- "Robert and Kristin kissing"
              -- "Twilight true love"
              --
              --

               Norton has seen a spike in these poisoned search results with the
               impending release of the movie, and expects even more
               "Twilight"-related poison search results, scams and spam as the
               curiosity continues to peak.

               Norton experts are available to share tips on how users can
               protect themselves from "Twilight"-related threats online,
    EXPERTS:   including:

               --Stay away from sensational strangers - Cybercriminals use
               sensational wording to get you to click on their poisoned links.
               Don't assume the best of a stranger -better to delete emails and
               ignore search results from people and sites you've never heard
               of.
               --Don't leave your neck exposed -Reputable online security
               software will identify malicious links and protect against other
               unseen threats.  Use Norton 360 to surf online without
               interruption and to make sure sites don't contain any malicious
               elements before you click on them.
               --Watch out for (were)wolves in sheep's clothing  - When it comes
               to search term results, it can be hard to tell friend from foe.
               Use a tool such as Norton Safe Web Lite to make sure sites aren't
               poisoned before clicking on them.
              --
              --

    WHEN:     Interviews available upon request

    CONTACT:  Corina Chapman
              Edelman for Norton
              415-229-7655
               Corina.Chapman@Edelman.com

SOURCE Norton