Microsoft Warns of Security Flaw in Gadgets

Microsoft has issued a security warning to users of the Gadget sidebar in Windows Vista and Gadgets in Windows 7.  Gadgets are the little applets like a clock, news headline feed, or weather feed that can be added to the desktop area.  Apparently a method has been developed to allow for the creation of custom gadgets, that when added to their computer system by users, would allow the providers of the gadget remote access and control of the computer, and ...

Continue Reading →
0

Windows 7 Surpasses Windows XP–Finally!

It has been nearly 3 years since Windows 7 was launched, and it has finally surpassed the 11 year old and somewhat long in the tooth Windows XP in percentage of Windows computers in use.  Windows 7 has a 42% share with windows XP falling to 41% as users replace their older systems.  Windows Vista, never very popular with users, has a 7% share, down from its highest share of 13%.  It is expected that Windows 7 with achieve 48% ...

Continue Reading →
0

Impressive Multi-Platform Backdoor Trojan Targets Windows, Linux and Apple Computers

The bad guys just keep getting better and better, which is why I am going back to school to upgrade my security expertise.  A recent outbreak was discovered by F-Secure and  reported by Sophos, that uses a Java archive file to determine which operating system you are using, and then downloads the appropriate version to malware to install.  The lesson here is that any imagined security invulnerability you thought you had as an Apple or Linux user is ...

Continue Reading →
0

Impressive Multi-Platform Backdoor Trojan Targets Windows, Linux and Apple Computers

The bad guys just keep getting better and better, which is why I am going back to school to upgrade my security expertise.  A recent outbreak was discovered by F-Secure and  reported by Sophos, that uses a Java archive file to determine which operating system you are using, and then downloads the appropriate version to malware to install.  The lesson here is that any imagined security invulnerability you thought you had as a Windows or Linux user is ...

Continue Reading →
0

Meeting Request is Malware-Laden Spam

Be on guard against email messages that look like a meeting announcement.  The attachment, Report.zip,  is a Trojan horse.  In many cases there are what appear to be intentional typos in the body text, partly to defeat spam filters and partly to appear as a hastily written email.  You will want to treat these kinds of email with suspicion.  When in doubt, suspicious attachment and links can be sent to Virus Total for analysis.  Thanks again to Continue Reading →

0

LinkedIn Makes Updates to Home Page

LinkedIn has made some significant changes to the home page, and is attempting to show only updates that you would be most interested in.  Taking a quick look myself, I can’t say that the changes are leaping out at me, but then it might be hard to notice what is NOT there.  LinkedIn announced this on their blog on July 16th.  Please feel free to leave a comment about what you think of the changes.

Continue Reading →
0

Extortion Exploit in Malware Infected Spam

When I teach my computer security classes, I am often asked “why do they do it?”  My answer is always “It’s the money.”  Most of the computer and network malware exploits are making money for the perpetrators one way or another, and as more traditional criminal organizations move into cybercrime, we see more traditional criminal elements.  In this case, spam email messages are sent out with a subject line of “You pig!” and a threatening note that the attached photograph ...

Continue Reading →
0

Malware Exploits Most in 4 Years

According to security vendor McAfee, in their May threat report, active malware at large on the Internet has reached a new four-year high, on track to reach 100 million samples by the end of 2012.  This was reported in the August 2012 issue of PCWorld.  New development kits for malware writers appeared that are responsible for the increase in activity.  The successful counterattacks on the botnets built on the Zeus and SpyEye packages has forced cybercriminals to seek out different ...

Continue Reading →
0

Yahoo Coughs Up User IDs and Passwords To Cybercriminals

Yahoo Voices, which is a sharing site on Yahoo “where your expertise and perspectives take center stage!” and users can post their own articles, videos and slideshows was hacked recently by the “D33Ds Company” and they posted 453,491 email addresses and passwords online.  If you have an account on this website, you will want to change the password.  And try going with something harder than “123456, password, welcome, ninja, or abc123” which were the top 5 most used ...

Continue Reading →
0

“Dr. Smurf” Goes to Jail

Dr Smurf

A cybercriminal going by the name “Dr. Smurf was taken down by the FBI for selling stolen credit card information on the underground “Dark Market” in 2008.  What Dr. Smurf didn’t know id that the FBI had infiltrated the DarkMarket in 2006 and was using it to learn how the world of cybercrime really worked, and to find and apprehend the malefactors that buy and sell credit card information, malware, and ...

Continue Reading →
0
Page 246 of 272 «...220230240244245246247248...»