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 general is a huge time for hackers ... [and] Black Friday is typically the start," Henry said. (Source: pcworld.com)

Henry's primary concern this holiday season is malware, a threat he believes continues to evolve, sometimes past the safe boundaries laid by security companies and their software.

Unfortunately, making it through Black Friday may be just the beginning. Many in the retail world regard the first of the week following Black Friday to be Cyber Monday, given the public's explosive interest in online shopping. Beware anything that looks too good to be true, says Henry. "This year, my biggest concern for consumers is all the Web-borne malware out there."

Above all, don't forget web security common sense just because the merry yuletide season is upon us. Henry wants online shoppers to remember that any sites being advertised in email -- especially those that are new and unfamiliar -- are probably spam and could be dangerous. "In all likelihood you're being directed to a malware-connected site."

Trend Micro senior research Jamz Yaneza couldn't agree more.  "Freebies may be freebies in the sense that you get free malware," Yaneza said. (Source: networkworld.com)

Doesn't sound like much of a deal to me.

Although it could prove to be a bad time of year for careless web shoppers, the opposite could certainly be true for Trend Micro and Secure Computing. Both companies encourage PC users to buy and/or update their security software as soon as possible.