symantec

Mon
25
Mar
John Lister's picture

ASUS Automatic Updates Compromised by Hackers

PC and laptop manufacturer ASUS unwittingly installed malware on its customers' laptops, according to a cyber security company. The malware went out to around a million people, yet appears to have been a highly targeted attack. The claims come from ... Kaspersky Lab, with rival firm Symantec confirming it has found similar evidence of the attack. At the time of writing, ASUS has yet to comment publicly on the claims. (Source: kaspersky.com ) According to Kaspersky Lab, the hackers took advantage of ASUS Live Update Utility. That's a tool by which ASUS automatically updates software on laptops, ... (view more)

Thu
21
Feb
John Lister's picture

Symantec: Popular Microsoft Apps Hijack PCs

At least eight apps in the official Microsoft Store were secretly designed to use a computer's resources without permission. It undermines Microsoft's efforts to promote the store as a "safe source of software." In the past few years, Microsoft has ... heavily pushed the idea of Windows users getting software from an app store - similar to the way mobile devices work - rather than the more traditional method of getting programs from a third-party sources and installing them directly to the PC or smartphone / tablet. There's even a special 'S' mode for Windows 10 that only allows the ... (view more)

Tue
21
Jul
John Lister's picture

Symantec: Spam Rate Falls to a 12-Year Low

According to security firm Symantec, the proportion of spam emails has fallen to their lowest levels in 12 years. It's the first time since 2003 that the majority of emails are not spam. While the figures are compiled from a variety of sources, the ... main source comes from customers using Symantec security products containing some form of email filtering. That could mean the report is slightly distorted towards those who find spam especially problematic, and thus overstate their level of spam. Overall, Symantec estimates that 49.7 percent of email messages contain spam. This covers all email ... (view more)

Tue
25
Nov
Brandon Dimmel's picture

Symantec: Regin Malware High-Level, Likely State Sponsored

Security firm Symantec says it has found a sinister and highly sophisticated piece of malware, which has somehow managed to evade security experts for more than six years. Dubbed 'Regin', the malware showcases high levels of technical competence, ... suggesting that it was likely developed by cyber espionage experts. "The development and operation of this malware would have required a significant investment of time and resources, indicating that a nation state is responsible," Symantec said in a recent white paper on the subject. "Its design makes it highly suited for persistent, ... (view more)

Fri
04
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

Symantec Saves 500,000 PCs From Massive Botnet

Security firm Symantec says it has disabled roughly 500,000 computers hijacked by a major botnet. Unfortunately, the botnet -- known as ZeroAccess -- still has around 1.4 million machines under its control. A botnet is a network of machines that ... have fallen victim to malicious software. This allows the cybercriminals running the network to combine the machines to create a powerful weapon. Sometimes botnet operators will use the computers to spread more malicious software, attack a business or government agency, or bring a website down. Infected Machines Used For Bogus Ad Clicks In this case ... (view more)

Wed
31
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Scammers Targeting Google Play Users, Symantec Says

According to security firm Symantec, the Google Play store is home to many potentially dangerous applications. The firm says it found approximately 1,200 suspicious apps on the store over a seven-month period. Google Play is Google's digital ... distribution center, and it's where most Android users turn for downloads (in effect, it's Google's version of Apple's App Store). More than 700,000 apps can be found on the Google Play store, which has played a central role in Android's rapid growth in the mobile market. Between February and April 2013 sales of Android devices accounted for more than ... (view more)

Thu
22
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

New Windows Malware Exploits Google Docs

A new type of malware targeting Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system (OS) reportedly uses Google Docs to carry out its attacks on unsuspecting users. According to a report from security firm Symantec (which discussed the issue in one of its ... recent Security Response blogs), a Trojan horse known as Backdoor.Makadocs is targeting Windows 8 users. Malware Disguises Itself; Tricks Users Here's how it works, according to Symantec: the malware exploits a vulnerability in the Google Docs program called "Viewer." Apparently the malware masks itself as a Rich Text Format (RTF) or Microsoft ... (view more)

Wed
07
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

Anonymous Attacks Security Firm Symantec: Report

The hacking group Anonymous claims it successfully stole data from security firm Symantec on Monday, November 5, 2012. However, Symantec denies the claim. Anonymous also claims to have gained access to servers belonging to ImageShack, a service that ... hosts pictures online. However, there has been no independent confirmation of that reported security breach, either. November 5th is an important date for Anonymous because it marks the anniversary of Guido 'Guy' Fawkes' attempt to blow up the English Parliament buildings in 1606. In England the event is remembered as 'Guy Fawkes Day.' Over time ... (view more)

Mon
16
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

Symantec Antivirus Update Causes Some PCs to Crash

A new update for a Symantec antivirus program reportedly causes some PCs running Microsoft's Windows XP operating system (OS) to crash. Apparently, the new software contains elements that conflict with older elements of the Symantec program. The ... faulty update was first made available early last week for Symantec's Endpoint Protection 12.1 antivirus software, a program used by a substantial number of businesses and some home consumers. Some XP Users Updated, Then Confronted by Blue Screen of Death The problem seems to affect computer systems running Microsoft's aging Windows XP OS. Symantec ... (view more)

Tue
01
May
Dennis Faas's picture

Adult Sites More Secure Than Blogs: Report

In a new report released by prominent security firm Symantec, research shows that adult websites are not the most dangerous on the web. Instead, blogs associated with religion or ideologies offer a far greater chance of infecting a visitor's ... computer with some form of malware. Called the Internet Security Threat Report, Symantec's information includes a list of the ten most dangerous types of websites. Surprisingly, adult sites -- which many have long associated with malware and viruses -- are included as number ten. Adult Sites Don't Need Malware Money According to the report, religious and ... (view more)

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