AskMen.com reroutes readers to malware-laced site

Hackers compromised the homepage of the widely-read Ziff Davis publication to redirect visitors to other domains that deliver “Caphaw” malicious code, which can overtake a victim’s computer.

“An attack of this scale can potentially infect tens of thousands of unsuspecting users due to the nature of the attack and the high popularity of the website,” WebSense security researcher Abel Toro wrote  on a company blog.

The domains hosting the abusive code are constantly changing.

A new one is generated every day, because malicious URLs are usually quickly blacklisted by security companies.

The malicious domains likely are hosting an attack tool that hunts for vulnerabilities in outdated Java or Adobe Systems’ Reader software on a visitor’s machine.

“Once the target is successfully exploited, the infamous malware Caphaw is dropped, allowing the attacker unfettered access to the victim's computer,” Toro wrote.