Google Safe Browsing Compromised by TinyURL

It's been recently discovered that nasty cyber badguys are using a service called TinyURL to circumvent Google Safe Browsing used by Firefox and Chrome.

What the Badguys did:
By using TinyURL they were able to hide Trojans and viruses in normally safe websites. The trick was the malicious programs were embedded in sub-domain sites instead of the root domain. So, while surfing the internet, if you clicked on an infected sub-domain Google would let you straight through to be infected.

What this means for you:
At the moment there isn't much to worry about. As soon as Google caught wind of the security hole they rectified the problem. However, there is very little news on the incident and it doesn't seem that Google has released their own press release (or any documentation for that matter) addressing the vulnerability. I suppose the head in the sand method is ok too.

The Lesson:
It doesn't matter how secure you think browser or antivirus software is or how much you trust Google you have to be cautious on the internet.

Check out these other blog posts that we guarantee are safe to explore:

Vissumo Rolls Out Bulletproof Touchscreen, We Ask "Why?"

Netbooks On Their Way Out the Door?

Microsoft Pats Self on Back, Extends the Availability of the Windows 7 Beta

Windows Marketplace: Microsoft App Store or the First Spam-based OS