Halloween searches exploited by hackers

Hackers and cybercriminals are already exploiting web searches for Halloween with malware-laced websites.

PandaLabs has found that terms such as 'Paranormal Activity 2' and 'Friday the 13th' are being used in 'BlackHat SEO' attacks.

This means that cybercriminals are using Halloween-related keywords to get their malicious sites to the top of search rankings.

There are also a number of computer 'trick or treat' pranks doing the rounds which use Halloween to trick people into thinking their computer has suffered a Trojan infection. PandaLabs said that in the majority of these cases there hasn't been a Trojan installed.

Yet GFI Software has found an increase in the number of Trojans and malware attacks taking place on tens of thousands of computers in the run up to Halloween at the weekend.

"Like any holiday, Halloween presents opportunities for malware distributors to gain an extra edge over an unsuspecting public," said Tom Kelchner, communications and research analyst at GFI.

"Users should be more careful than ever when interacting with web sites unless they are positive that it comes from a trusted source," he continued.

Web analysis firm Hitwise found that in the past week there have been 18,000 different searches for Halloween-related content with 'halloween costumes' proving most popular.