bug

Microsoft has published details of its next batch of security updates (known as Patch Tuesday), due to download to Windows machines automatically on Tuesday, November 8 via Windows Update. The only critical update in the batch affects newer rather ... than older editions of Windows. None of the security updates to be released next Tuesday are said to patch MS Word, which is currently being exploited by the Duqu virus (a major zero-day threat ). The entire update is a bit of a surprise, say critics, because it deals with just four groups of bugs -- a far cry from recent updates that have included ... (view more)

A ten-year-old has revealed a flaw in mobile-based video games that could potentially expose these devices to a security risk. The discovery came when the youngster got bored with the pace of farming games. The self-described hacker, who has not ... revealed her real name and prefers to be known publicly as CyFi, had been playing games similar to Farmville, which allow players to set up virtual farms and often either compete or co-operate with online friends. However, partly for realism and partly to keep gamers playing, it can often take hours before planting virtual seeds leads to crops growing ... (view more)

Online phone service Skype is preparing to fix a bug in the Mac edition of the system that could allow hackers to take control of a computer remotely. The site that discovered the bug has accused Skype of dragging its heels on the issue. Gordon ... Maddern of purehacking.com says he discovered the bug entirely by mistake. He was talking to a colleague on a Skype connection about some code written for a client. To his surprise he was able to make the code run on his colleague's computer. Upon closer examination, Maddern discovered that the hack only worked where the recipient's computer was a Mac ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced that Tuesday's security update will include patches for a record-breaking 64 security problems. They include fixes for a number of particularly high profile problems announced in the past couple of months. The update will be ... made up of 17 bulletins. That ties for the record, though this will be a new highest figure for the number of individual fixes. One of the bugs that's being fixed involved a bug in the Windows Server Message Block ("SMB"), the system that controls networking and file-sharing. The bug was disclosed in February and could theoretically have ... (view more)

Hackers are actively exploiting a bug that involves both Windows and Internet Explorer. Google believes the hackers may be targeting specific users. The bug involves MHTML, which is a special format designed to combine all the different files of a ... web page, such as the coding for the text and layout, the image files and video files, into a single file. It was originally developed as a way for a user to save an entire webpage to their desktop without winding up with a messy collection of files, but can also be used as a web link. The vulnerability involves the way that Internet Explorer and ... (view more)

Google has restored access to email for around 40,000 customers whose accounts were mistakenly wiped clean this past Sunday. It says the delay in sorting the problem was because it had to restore from a physical back-up. The problem began on Sunday ... afternoon when some customers found either they were unable to access their Gmail accounts, or that the accounts appeared as if they were open. That is to say, there were no messages whatsoever in the archive, except for a welcome message from Google. Google said it was working on the problem and noted that in cases where users were unable to log- ... (view more)

Microsoft says it's unlikely that hackers will successfully exploit a recently discovered security bug in Windows. The company says that if the bug is abused, it would likely result in a denial of service attack instead. As noted on Wednesday, the ... problem involves system files related to Windows network file and printer sharing. Hackers are often particularly interested in exploiting such system files as they are a potential entry point between a networked computer and the outside world (via the Internet). Denial of Service Risk to Windows In this case, the Windows exploit appears to have two ... (view more)

A new zero-day security flaw has been found in Windows that could allow a hacker remote access to a PC. A security researcher recently disclosed the bug, which Microsoft is currently investigating. The programming code for the security flaw has been ... posted publically and is related to a Windows system file called "mrxsmb.sys". The file is related to Windows Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, used for network communications. Bug Rated Critical by Security Experts In short, the affected file is associated with file and printer sharing features within the Windows operating system (OS). ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that hackers have attempted to exploit a bug in Microsoft Word. The bug was fixed in a security update last month, but the company is also concerned that some users may not have installed the update. The bug involves the way ... MS Word handles rich text format (.RTF) files. This is a format used for text documents that have a very limited degree of formatting information compared to full-blown MS Word documents. The format is most commonly used as a way of moving documents from one word processor to another without altering the text's formatting. RTF Flaw Causes Memory ... (view more)

Adobe has revealed that there is a critical zero day bug in its Flash Player, Acrobat and Adobe Reader applications. As well as potentially causing a crash, the bug could allow an attacker to remotely take control of a computer. A zero day bug means ... big trouble for a software developer. It occurs where hackers have discovered a security hole in a program and are actively sharing ways to exploit it before developers know it exists. The term " Zero day " refers to the start of the period during which hackers are able to exploit the bug before the developers produce and distribute a ... (view more)