security

A recent security threat has already infected about 74,000 computers owned by 2,500 companies and government organizations around the world. That's not a huge number, but the way in which the new "Kneber" botnet works should have most folks ... concerned. The Kneber botnet was discovered in late January by security firm NetWitness. The malicious botnet employs the infamous ZeuS Trojan to swipe login and password data once a system has become compromised. Botnet 'Most Dangerous' on the Web Today At this time, the Kneber botnet has yet to be put out of service. Although it was traced to Germany, ... (view more)

A new ethical hacking contest, called "Pwn2Own" is set to get under way this coming March 24, 2010, with awards of $100,000 in prize money. Predictions on which operating systems will be first to fall prey to hackers are already being heard; ... according to the event's organizer, the speediest, easiest hack will almost surely be on Mac's new Snow Leopard. Fundamental Beliefs: Mac Vs PC Security For years, it's been said that one of the main reasons why consumers have purchased Macs is because of the popular belief that Mac computers are more secure than PCs running MS Windows. Many ... (view more)

According to reports, Google and the National Security Agency (NSA) are teaming up in the name of cyber security. Under the agreement, the NSA would help Google defend against attacks like the one that targeted the search company (along with Adobe ... and several other firms) from China several weeks ago . Google announced publicly that their systems had been hacked beginning in December . The Google intrusions targeted Google source code and extended to more than 30 other large tech, defense, energy, financial and media companies. Gmail accounts of human rights activists in Europe, China and the ... (view more)

It's still a few days till Valentine's, but already Microsoft has provided its February security gift for Windows users. In yesterday's Patch Tuesday release, the Redmond-based software firm has unveiled fixes for 26 vulnerabilities, almost ... one-fifth of which are marked "critical". Critical Fixes for Windows, MS Office Suite The recent patches address flaws in Microsoft's Windows operating system and its Office software suite. Five of the vulnerabilities have been ear-marked "critical," Microsoft's highest threat rating, and another seven "important". One is considered "moderate". Across the ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed a flaw in Internet Explorer could be used by hackers to access the files on a user's computer. The flaw was demonstrated at a security conference this week. The man who discovered the flaw, Jorge Luis Alvarez Medina of Core ... Security Technologies, says that so far as he can tell, it's not something which can be easily patched. The good news is that Windows Vista and Windows 7 both have default options for Internet Explorer which can block the problem. Medina first noted the existence of the flaw last week, but held back details until this week's Black Hat Conference. ... (view more)

United States security officials have joined European officials in noting the potential security risks of running Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). But they haven't gone as far as issuing a formal warning to stop using the browser. The United States ... Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), part of the Department of Homeland Security has issued an advisory suggesting users review the recent Microsoft security patch and apply any updates which will improve security. That could be interpreted in two ways: patch IE6 immediately, or update to a later edition; the latter of course would make more ... (view more)

A recent report suggests that most users that use social networking sites have reported being spammed, with more than a third of those messages containing malicious links, or malware attached to the bogus messages. The security firm which ran the ... survey says the issue could be a serious threat to corporate networks. According to security experts Sophos, 57% of those questioned say they received unsolicited messages on their social networks last year, compared with 33% in 2008. The proportion who received either infected files or links to harmful material rose from 21% to 36%. Businesses Aware ... (view more)

Security firm Sophos tells PC World that two security measures introduced in Windows Vista and expanded in Windows 7 have had a marked effect on levels of infection on computers. Nevertheless, several online security professionals have reminded ... users of Windows 7 that while the new operating system (OS) offers enhanced security over its predecessors, it's not invulnerable. They note that human vulnerabilities will always leave people at risk to hackers. Two New Security Features Mark Improvements Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) partially randomizes the order in which data is stored ... (view more)

Microsoft has admitted it knew about the latest Internet Explorer zero-day flaw more than three months ago, news that's likely to prompt criticism about the way the firm prioritizes security issues. The bug, which involves an invalid pointer ... reference, was first reported to Microsoft by Israeli security expert Eyal Gruner on August 26. He says that because it was so easy to discover the vulnerability, he expected less scrupulous people would also find it and develop ways to exploit it. MS Confirmed Flaw in September Microsoft says it received this warning and confirmed it in early September. ... (view more)

Microsoft announced yesterday that it was working on a special emergency patch to prevent the spread of an Internet Explorer zero-day flaw in its Internet Explorer browser that allowed hackers to breach the defenses of Google, Adobe, and about 32 ... other companies. The attack is said to be "the most sophisticated cyber attack... seen in years," according to tech security firm McAfee . Now, Microsoft is offering recommendations for home and business users trying to keep themselves protected until the Internet Explorer patch is widely available. Older Versions of IE, Windows Most ... (view more)