Security

In following with Microsoft's "megapatch" on Tuesday , Mozilla Corporation updated its Firefox browser to patch a staggering 24 vulnerabilities. The new Firefox v1.5.0.2 includes 7 patches, with 5 of them marked critical. Mozilla Corporation also ... released 11 new patches for the older Firefox 1.5, and 15 for the Firefox1.0x line. Compared to Microsoft's every-second-Tuesday schedule, Mozilla Corporation releases their security updates erratically (their last update was in February, 2006). They now plan on moving to a schedule that will release their updates every six or eight weeks. ... (view more)

I just recently moved to a new address; actually, I moved to the next county. ;-) In the process, I had to drop my Internet provider (Yahoo DSL) and had to go with a local cable provider because of availability. The process was not smooth but it was ... eventually completed and I was back online once all the pieces were connected together. I got to thinking about the steps I took to reconnect my network of computers in order to share Internet, and came to the conclusion that the process was straightforward enough that article would be in order. With DSL access, your Internet provider will ... (view more)

In 2003, a federal court ruled that Microsoft must pay $521 million to a Chicago-based Eolas Technologies company and the University of California. (Source: cnet.com ) Eolas sued Microsoft on the basis that the software giant infringed upon its ... patent that allows web browsers to embed and execute interactive programs -- what we know today as "ActiveX Technology" for Internet Explorer. Now almost three years later, the Eolas vs. Microsoft fiasco is finally coming to a close. According to Internet News , on Tuesday, April 11th, Microsoft will be releasing a patch related to the lawsuit that ... (view more)

Do you care if you get hacked? You should! Just think about all the things you do with your computer. At the very least, I would bet you use it to send e-mail, and surf the web on a regular basis. In fact, if you're anything like the average ... computer user, you probably use the Internet to buy gifts, manage your stock portfolio, and even pay your bills online. So what if your computer became compomised by a hacker? In that case, it's safe to assume that everything you do with your computer is no longer private. Not only that, but depending upon the sophistication of an attack, a hacked ... (view more)

Instant messaging has done for email what email has done for land mail: namely, the waiting time for delivery (and response) has decreased dramatically. With instant messaging, you can type a message to a friend and have it delivered straight to ... their PC within seconds. But like anything else we do online, chatting has some risks associated with it. For one thing, chat clients often suffer from vulnerabilities. Just like any other piece of software, your chat client [software] needs to be updated periodically to ensure you're protected from the latest vulnerabilities that attackers seek to ... (view more)

" What the heck is a blended threat? " I'm glad you asked ;-) According to searchSecurity.com a blended threat is "a computer network attack that seeks to maximize the severity of damage and speed of contagion by combining methods, for example using ... characteristics of both viruses and worms, while also taking advantage of vulnerabilities in computers, networks, or other physical systems." (Source: searchSecurity.com ) Now that's a mouthful! In more simpler terms, a blended threat is an attack that combines two or more vulnerabilities or attack methods on a remote machine. Blended threats are ... (view more)

This is the third and final part in a series on spyware prevention tips (access part 1 and part 2 here). So far I've shared two tips that deal with specific pieces of software; the first tip was the use of an excellent (and free) tool called ... SpywareBlaster . This tool lives, eats, and breathes to protect your computer from the installation of spyware. In the second tip, I overviewed security risks associated with Internet Explorer and recommended using Mozilla Firefox as an alternative browser. Today I'm going to share what is undoubtedly the single most important thing you can do to protect ... (view more)

This entry is the second part of a three part series on spyware prevention tips. In the first article , I overviewed an excellent (and free!) tool called SpywareBlaster whose sole purpose is to prevent the installation of spyware on your computer. ... SpywareBlaster is lightweight, easy-to-use, and continually updated. Today I'm going to share a second spyware prevention tip. Are you ready? Spyware Prevention Tip #2 - Stop Using Internet Explorer Fact: Some popular forms of spyware specifically target vulnerabilities associated with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Fact: Internet Explorer has a ... (view more)

Ask nearly any web surfer if he or she is concerned about spyware, and no doubt the majority will answer a resounding "Yes!" Indeed, there's good reason to be concerned. According to a 2005 report on spyware , antispyware vendor Webroot found that ... 88% of surveyed machines had some form of spyware installed. They even estimate that spyware authors generate in excess of $2 billion in annual revenue. A more recent study done by the University of Washington also contains some sobering statistics, including a finding that one in every 20 executable files downloaded contains some form of spyware. ... (view more)

Back in May of 2005, I read that my favorite freeware antivirus program (Grisoft AVG) was changing to shareware ("try and buy") with the release of their next version. I was panic-stricken! That set me to looking for a new freeware antivirus ... alternative. Not too long after my search, I was amazed to find that there were in fact two viable alternatives to Grisoft, inlcuding: avast! and AntiVir. I personally settled on using Avast! antivirus, and have been using it ever since. On a related note: it turned out that Grisoft AVG continued to offer a free edition, after all. If you're curious as to ... (view more)