22:23 Antivirus software detects and removes viruses | |
Antivirus Software Antivirus software detects and removes viruses, worms, trojans, and other forms of malware. Antivirus software is available for both Windows and Mac users and many free antivirus scanners are available. Microsoft Malicious Software Removal ToolThe Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) offers valuable adjunct protection - but it's not a substitute for installed antivirus protection and it's LulzSec: X-Factor, Fox, and the FBIOn May 6th, a group calling itself LulzSec announced on Twitter they had stolen the X-Factor's contestant database from Fox.com. Two hours later, the attackers Amazon Cloud Used in Sony Attacks?Bloomberg is reporting that an unnamed source has stated Amazon's cloud services were used in the April 2011 attacks against Sony gaming networks. The article Another NASA BreachFor the second time in barely more than a week, servers at NASA have been compromised. On May 9th, IDG's Robert McMillan reported a compromise affecting dozens Sony Reset Password Mechanism Leads to More CompromiseAfter an extended outage resulting from compromise of Sony's PSN and SOE gaming networks, on May 14th Sony began bringing those networks back online. Upon Trusteer: SpyEye Trojan Targeting Verizon CustomersTrusteer has reported a recent attack targeting Verizon customers. Malware on the victim's computer injects a fake billing page after you've logged into your Mac Guard Tries to Catch Mac Users Off GuardMac Guard is the latest rendition of the MACDefender scareware family. Unlike MACDefender, Mac Guard doesn't prompt for a password during installation. However, New Year; Same Old Security WoesIt's now 2011 and many folks are brimming with resolve to quit some habit, go on a diet, or exercise more. Still others will look to the year ahead and try to The 2011 Readers' Choice AwardsIt's your chance to weigh in on which antivirus software you like best. Nominations are being accepted between now through end of day on Feb. 4. Nominations can Two Charged in AT&T BreachFederal prosecutors have charged Andrew Auernheimer and Daniel Spitler with conspiracy and fraud resulting from last June's breach of AT&T server data. Schakolad Chocolate Scam Not So SweetSchakolad Chocolate Factory bills itself as Chocolates to Live By. And judging by the 5 star reviews on the Web, the chocoate franchise must live up to A Brief History of Malware; The First 25 YearsIn January 2011, Brain - the first PC-based malware - turned 25 years old. (It's worth noting that the first desktop computer virus was actually a Mac virus, Google Android: At More Risk of Malware or FUD?In an article titled Why Almost Everything You Hear About Medicine is Wrong, Newseek profiles Dr. John P.A. Ioannidis, the newly appointed chief of Stanford Nominate Your Favorite AntivirusIt's your last chance to nominate your favorite Windows, Mac, or Free antivirus for inclusion in the 2011 Antivirus Readers' Choice Awards. Nominations will The 2011 Readers' Choice Awards - Vote NowReaders have spoken, the nominations are in, and now here's your chance to choose which of the finalists will be voted best antivirus for 2011 in its respective Lost iPhone = Password PwnageIf your iPhone were lost or stolen, you'd like to think that the passwords on the device were at least safe. Turns out, they aren't - in less than 6 minutes Yet Another (Adobe) Zero DayLove this. In response to YAZD (yet another zero-day) announcement from Adobe, Raol Schouwenberg of Kaspersky blogged: Call me old-fashioned, but I don't The Etsy TrojanEtsy.com has some amazingly talented artisans, which makes it all the more disturbing to see this talented group get trojaned. Okay, Etsy isn't exactly a Are Viruses Really 40 Today? Probably Not.On March 15, 1971, it's alleged the first computer virus was created. Why alleged? Because Creeper wasn't a virus at all, nor even a worm. In fact, its creator Readers' Choice Award WinnersThe 2011 Readers' Choice Awards are complete. Congratulations to the winners in each of the 4 categories: Best Windows Antivirus, Best Mac Antivirus, Best Getting Rid of ScarewareNo matter what you call it - scareware, rogue software, or fake av - it's an expensive menace. Scareware masquerades as antivirus or other security software Facebook April Fools' Prank Phishing PasswordsA scam disguised as an April Fools' prank video is stealing Facebook usernames and passwords from victims. The scam also automatically Mundolike Facebook "Like" ScamA new scam worm on Facebook is using a form of click-jacking to trick users into unknowingly pressing the Facebook Like button, which automatically adds the AVAST, Ye Pirates!Apparently even the Vatican does it - along with 774,649 others. The what? They've all been using stolen license keys for the Pro version of AVAST antivirus. An Unwanted Favour from IndiaFrom Rik Ferguson, Trend Micro: I just received a call, not for the first time, from a call centre located in India. The caller knew my name and used it Depositing Security FUDIt's unfortunate, but some marketeers thrive on perpetuating Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. One timely example, Trend Micro's recent news release titled ATMs - Intel / McAfee Acquisition InsightsYesterday, Intel announced plans to acquire McAfee for $7.7 billion USD (right on par at 4x McAfee's 2009 annual revenue). McAfee and intel have been engaged in "ZeleniyHach" Extortion Scam Threatens DDoSWebsite owners report being spammed by extortionists who are demanding $200 to keep your website away from DDOS attack. First reported in July 2010, the Simple Mac Security TweaksJust because you bought a Mac, it doesn't mean you don't have to think about security. To get you started on the right track, here are a few simple tweaks to "Here You Have" Worm: A Has Been Before it StartedLots in the press about the alleged menace of the Here You Have email worm. Which is pretty funny considering that for an email worm, this one had /fail Is Stuxnet Really Targeting Iran?There has been no shortage of claims that Iran was the intended target of the Stuxnet worm. But the reality is, these claims are completely unfounded. Here's an Why and How to Disable JavaWhether you're a Mac or a PC user, chances are good that Sun's Java (not to be confused with JavaScript) is installed on your computer, However, chances are Roger Davidson: A Victim of Virus Scam - Or Not?When reading the news, it's good to remember that what you're really reading is the product of someone else's research into the story. How in depth that Ransomware Trojan Back with a VengeanceRansomware trojans typically encrypt the data on your computer's hard drive and then demand payment to recover the files. Today, Kaspersky Labs has reported the Operation Payback: Misguided MissilesUnless you've been living under a rock the past couple of weeks, you've no doubt heard of Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and the leaking of U.S. State Department World of Warcraft Holiday ScamsWith Christmas and New Year's nearly upon us, many folks will be enjoying some much needed downtime. Part of that relaxation may involve playing WoW (World of Symptoms of a Virus InfectionA lot of today's malware goes to great lengths to avoid notice. But some viruses exhibit symptoms that might as well be a banner advertising the infection. Tavis Ormandy Chooses When Google or NotIn yesterday's patches from Adobe, it was interesting to note the following in the acknowledgments section: Tavis Ormandy of the Google Security Team 'World's No. 1 Hacker' HackedIt's bad karma to steal other people's work. Gregory D. Evans, who self-proclaims himself the World's No. 1 hacker, published a book full of plagiarized Big W Underscores Need for Autorun ProtectionBig W, Australia's largest discount department store, is apparently having a bit of trouble with some of their photo kiosks. According to Morgan Storey's Blizzard: Real Names, Real RisksActivision Blizzard (stock: ATVI) has stepped chest deep into controversy after announcing plans to begin publishing players' real names in Battle.net forums. Free Backup and Recovery OfferGiven the invasive nature of today's malware, a system wipe and restore is often the best (and certainly safest) option to guard against rootkit-enabled Possible New, Signed, RootkitVia Kaspersky Lab's Threatpost: Security researchers have identified a new suspicious program that is copying itself to PCs via USB mass storage devices Signed Rootkit .LNK'd to Zero DayTurns out that Realtek signed rootkit was really digitally signed. It's not clear how the attackers were able to get their hands on a digitally signed Realtek iPwn: PDF Exploit Takes Control of iPhoneA stack overflow in Apple's handling of fonts in PDF files has left iPhone users vulnerable to an exploit that gives attackers complete control of the device. Police Raid Google KoreaIn response to allegations of illegal data collection, South Korean police have raided the offices of Google Korea. According to the WSJ: The National Sound Off: What's Your Take on Antivirus?Antivirus software may be must-have protection, but not everyone's experience will be equal. What's your take on antivirus software? Which is your favorite Thailand Nabs 2 in Trojaned Bank TheftI guess if you're going to steal funds from someone's bank account, you should probably check to make sure your intended victim is not a member of the Thai Data Theft Gets Even More PersonalTalk about kicking someone when they're down. In two separate incidents, thieves in Oregon have stolen personal data related to 4,000 psych patients and 2,900 Disney Sued for Alleged Bad CookiesWe've warned about Adobe Flash cookies in the past. Now, from Dan Goodin at El Reg: Walt Disney's internet subsidiary and several of its partners have been Your Scam Has Arrived JFKScammers are never short of clever tricks. One of the latest examples, an email that arrives with the subject line Your package has arrived JFK. The email Irresponsible DisclosureJust because the word security appears in a company name or person's title, it doesn't necessarily mean those entities are really trying to help protect you Mobile Spy from Retina-X StudiosRetina-X Studios has announced a new product dubbed Mobile Spy. It's hard to fathom why anyone would want to touch this product. Charlie Sorrel at Wired Matousec "Earthquake" More of a RumbleThe little known Matousec whose main stated goal is to improve security of end-users has instead irresponsibly disclosed details of a vulnerability, which if Router Attacks on the UptickIncreasingly, attackers are targeting routers to hijack and redirect your Internet traffic. Some of the simpler things you can do to ensure your router's Norton False Positive in WoWSymantec's antivirus scanners are flagging a legitimate Blizzard World of Warcraft file as an Infostealer. The false positive is triggered on scan.dll or Google Wardriving Involved Data SniffingJust a month ago it was reported that Google was collecting your wireless SSID and MAC address as they mapped your home. Now it turns out that Google's Germany Makes Grab for Google DataAs previously reported, Google captured unsecured wi-fi transmissions within range of their Google Street View cars. That's indeed unfortunate and concerning. Facebook Users Thwart Clickjacking WormFacebook users' may have a propensity to spread hoaxes, but they apparently also have an equally strong (and vastly more helpful) inclination for rapidly Online Shopping SafetyWhether it's for a holiday gift or an item for yourself, online shopping offers vast selection and great convenience. However, there are extra security AT&T Breach Exposes iPad UsersA breach made possible by a security flaw on AT&T's website led to the theft of at least 114,000 iPad user details. According to gawker.com, who examined Ormandy's Exploit Leads to MalwareTuesday afternoon, Microsoft reported that they were aware of limited exploits of the recently disclosed vulnerability in the Windows Help and Support Center. Ormandy / Google: How Close is Too Close?Supporters of Tavis Ormandy believe that his decision to spoon-feed attackers a play-by-play exploit to infect your computers was justified. And they're upset Apple Updates Antivirus: Much Ado About NothingAntivirus vendor Sophos is making a rather big deal about Apple's June 15th Mac OS X v10.6.4 security update. That update included an undocumented addition to WoW Real ID: A Really Bad IdeaWoW scams have plagued World of Warcraft players, both in-game and out. That's why it's been so surprising (and disturbing) to see Blizzard continually roll out Malware, Attackers, but Not HackersAndy Greenberg of Forbes writes an interesting article discussing the defense industry's hemorrhaging of intellectual property to cyberspies. Unfortunately, How to Say You're SorryIf you've ever been the victim of a Twitter, Facebook, or IM phishing scam, you've experienced first-hand the problem it creates for all your contacts. Suddenly The Spy at Harriton HighHow would you feel if school officials had the ability to peak into your child's bedroom at any time of the day or night? If you're a parent or a student with a No Such Thing as Free or Easy MoneyI hate to beat a dead horse, but as I've stated many times on this blog and in various articles, small businesses across the U.S. are being wiped out with the Keeping Your Secret Answer SecretMost online accounts include a 'secret' question to assist in password recovery, the correct answer to which is supposed to validate that you really are the Too Bad it's Not a Botnet...I chuckled when I read these words from Mikko Hypponen: The problem is that this is not a botnet... Of course, Mikko was referring to the Allaple worm and why Gonzales Accomplice Gets Probation, Nets $50GRemember the old saying, if you do the crime, prepare to serve the time. That doesn't seem to apply too often these days, and particularly not with JC Penney Attempts to Bar Disclosure of Data TheftAccording to court documents, JCPenney was a formerly unnamed victim in the credit card heists carried out by Albert Gonzales. It hasn't yet been revealed Kim Jr: Scammer at LawThis seems to be the week for scams. The following isn't new, but it just began making the rounds again: From: Kim Jr. BitTorrent Users Targeted in Copyright ScamPerhaps taking a cue from last month's Lumberton Trading Company copyright violation scam, this week scammers began distributing ransomware targeting BitTorrent Facebook Beacons Rebranded "Likes"Remember the successful class-action lawsuit against Facebook's Beacons? It seems Facebook has taken that failed attempt at fingerprinting users' online Speculation a Boon to McAfee StockAccording to Bloomberg: Trading of bullish McAfee Inc. options jumped to the highest in almost a decade after Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. said the Pump and Dump Stock ScamsJudging from my inbox this morning, it looks like pump and dump stock scams are back in full force. Sample subject lines from today's deluge of pump and dump What Loveletter (Should Have) Taught UsToday marks the 10th anniversary of the Loveletter email worm. Assuming you were old enough to be online on May 4, 2000, no doubt you'll probably remember at Christmas Gifts from Blizzard - Not!It's Thanksgiving Day so with some much needed downtime, I decided to login to my fire mage and play a little WoW (World of Warcraft). No sooner had I done so Cyber Warfare: What is it Really?There's been a lot of talk about cyber warfare and it always seems to invoke the notion of one government attacking another government. A sort of esoteric, It's Phishing, Not a KeyloggerClark Howard probably gives great financial advice, or so I would assume given that he's got a syndicated show on the topic. But great financial advice doesn't 2010 Security PredictionsIt's that time of year when vendors push their annual security predictions. Usually these are pretty ho-hum and, well, predictable. Whatever happened last year What's Quicken Trying to Hide?Intuit, makers of Quicken financial software, are instructing users who wish to manually update Quicken 2010 to Pause or temporarily disable all virus scanning The Malware Naming ConundrumIn Malware Threat Reports Fail to Add Up, Infosecurity mag takes antivirus vendors to task for not coordinating malware names. The article quotes a security Google to be CommendedIn all the efforts to detail what's known about Google's recently announced breach, the most important detail is often being overlooked. I confess that in my Haiti, Earthquake, and ScamsWhether it's the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, or the U.S. presidential election, natural disasters and other breaking news F-Secure Spoofed in Job ScamAs if being unemployed weren't bad enough, job seekers continue to be targeted by scam artists and criminals. In the latest example, criminals made bogus claims | |
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