It's Your Browser - Not Your System - that Malware Is After

Traditional malware tends to infect the OS - typically, as an executable program that modifies various boot parameters so it runs every time the computer is turned on. Now, a new type of malware has emerged. Sometimes called a Man-in-the-Browser (MitB) or browser zombie, it arrives as a malicious browser extension, plugin, helper object, or piece of JavaScript. It doesn't infect the whole system; instead it takes complete control of your browser and runs whenever you surf the web.

And why not? With our increased adoption of cloud services and online banking, a great deal of personal and sensitive data passes through our web browsers. Many antivirus solutions are focused on catching traditional malware and aren't as effective at detecting these browser-based infections. As a result, we expect to see a steep rise in browser-infecting malware in 2013.