Security

Wed
28
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Windows XP SP3 To Deliver Performance Boost

An article from Computer World says the Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) beta, recently released to about 15,000 testers, runs Microsoft's Office Suite 10% faster than Windows XP SP2. Performance testing was done by Devil Mountain Software, with the ... results leading to further speculation that Windows XP is going absolutely nowhere. The tests were also performed with Windows Vista and Windows Vista SP1. Benchmarks from the tests show Windows XP SP3 to be more than two times faster than Vista SP1, which doesn't bode well for Windows Vista. Craig Barth, Devil Mountain's chief technology officer, ... (view more)

Tue
27
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Hackers Threaten Internet Phone Calls

A security expert has produced proof that Internet phone calls could be hacked. Peter Cox has produced a program named SIPtap, which is designed to monitor VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) streams that carry phone calls through services such as ... Skype. The program can record conversations as audio files and even index the calls by date or caller. The software only needs to be installed on one machine (through a virus) to record all the calls made on the network. A skilled hacker could even install it across an entire Internet service provider's system. Mr. Cox has only used SIPtap to prove ... (view more)

Mon
26
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Facebook Ad System Slammed for Privacy Invasion

Facebook users and privacy groups have criticised a new advertising scheme from the social networking site. Designed to net Facebook more ad dollars, the program plays Big Brother with the site's loyal (and growing) membership. The 'Beacon' system ... is a partnership between Facebook and 44 other sites. Whenever a user visits one of these sites while logged in to Facebook, their activities are monitored. Certain events are then automatically posted on their Facebook news feed which can be seen by all of their online friends. The events which are reported include online purchases, movie rentals, ... (view more)

Fri
23
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Security Companies Brace for 'Black Friday'

"Black Friday" really isn't so bad. Despite the fact that Friday, November 23 represents the busiest shopping day of the year, it's certainly no Black Tuesday: the infamous October 29, 1929 stock market crash that sent the world into a decade of ... desperate poverty. "Black Friday" doesn't really stack up. Or, does it? According to some security experts, Black Friday could indeed prove a frightening day for the world's web users. Vice president of strategic accounts for Secure Computing Paul Henry recently warned all Internet surfers to be especially vigilant today. "The holiday season in ... (view more)

Fri
23
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Being Phished? What to do!

Do you think you've been a victim of a phishing scam? First of all, don't call or write us here at Infopackets! Unfortunately, we can't do anything for you, other than tell others to be careful! But here are some things you can do that will help ... ... Phishing is done through email and it is a big problem. In the past year alone, I have received thousands of emails that included huge lottery winnings from just about everyone in Europe, folks that were dying from cancer, car and plane crashes, and, of all things, tooth decay, part time job offers, and all sorts of "official" messages from ... (view more)

Thu
22
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Banner Ads Attack!

You thought you were safe didn't you? Being ever so careful not to enter a site you couldn't trust, scanning every email before you opened it. It was all so perfect...until that banner ad. Late last week it was reported that hackers had found a ... remarkably sophisticated way to break into the average computer. Several trusted websites found malicious software hidden within banner ads on their web pages. Companies affected included The Economist.com, Canada.com, and MLB.com. (Source: cbc.ca ) The amazing part about the scam was that you only had to visit the site and see the infected page for ... (view more)

Tue
20
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Firefox Exploit Leads to Gmail Break-Ins

A security loophole in the Mozilla Firefox web browser has been identified, which may make Google user accounts vulnerable to exploitation by potential hackers. Using cross-site scripting protocols, individuals may be able to access private ... information without the knowledge of their victims. This vulnerability was first brought to the attention of internet junkies by Petko D. Petkov, a.k.a 'pdp', founder of the GNUCITIZEN group. His investigation led to the discovery of the Firefox exploit, which is not currently detected in rival web browsers. (Source: gnucitizen.org ) The issue arises from ... (view more)

Tue
20
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Playstation 3 First Console to Get Internet Security Software

Sony's PlayStation 3 has become the first game console with Internet security software. The software was included in the system upgrade received by owners last week, but has only just been announced. It's the work of Trend Micro, a security company ... working in partnership with Sony. The service is currently free of charge, but will be a subscription service from next April. Sony and Trend Micro have yet to reveal the prices which will then apply. Aside from anti-virus features the software also includes web filters. This blocks sites in two different ways; it checks history and ownership to ... (view more)

Thu
15
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

U.S. Government Grapples with Security

We hear a lot about Internet threats as they develop, but how are these scares addressed by the government? According to one survey, the potential for disaster has convinced about 65% of the country's government-employed IT managers to spend more ... time on security than they did in 2006. The recent survey was conducted by Cisco Systems, no slouch in the security sphere. The security firm found that spyware and bots remain the top concern of most answering the survey, with security breaches and poor training finishing second and third. Part of the reason for spyware's infamous rise has something ... (view more)

Mon
12
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Anti-Spyware Offer Revealed As Front For Hackers

Hackers are now hiding viruses in the last place you'd expect to find them: anti-spyware software. The elaborate scam allows hackers to get access to users computers. And for added measure, they even take credit card details on the way. The scam ... works by posting adverts on big-name websites. A random selection of these ads produce a pop-up window with a fake warning that the user's computer is infected, and offers a download of an anti-spyware program, paid for by credit card. The download, which comes under more than 40 different names such as Spyshredder, is actually a Trojan virus. The ... (view more)

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