The adware application silently
downloaded advertising software and installed it to the computer without
the user's knowledge. DollarRevenue was also bundled with some
ad-supported products and was extremely difficult to remove.
As host protection concerns evolve to
include data loss prevention, vendors are busily enhancing their
offerings.
Some smaller vendors, including ESET, Panda Security, Prevx,
and Sana Security, have already begun working in such a fashion, turning
their deployed endpoints into collectors.
"... the publisher piles on
features not because they are practical or useful, but so that they can
win the 'battle of the checkbox' where buyers go for the program with the
most features. This leads to more software running in the background,
which means a performance hit at the very least, and an increased chance
of conflicts with other applications. My advice is to buy what you need,
and no more."
Antivirus products get a yearly makeover, which may seem
unnecessary on the surface, but is actually crucial for AV vendors to
survive and stave off the droves of new malware variants affecting
everyone from the home user to enterprise IT shops.
AV
Testing Guidelines Coming Next Year (December 07)
Consumers should have more accurate information
with which to compare security software suites under a new set of
software testing guidelines to be finalized early next year.
Arrest of
Identity Theft’s Bonnie and Clyde Opens Debate on Spyware Programs
(December 07)
Two jet-setting identity thieves have been
arrested, caught using a spyware program to steal sensitive data.
Facebook
Under Fire for Spyware Ad System (December 07)
Last month, when Facebook announced a series of ads that
would inject
themselves into your friends' News Feeds, privacy
advocates balked.
Win 2000
anti-virus products fail independent tests (December 07)
Seventeen out of 32 products tested - including packages
from Trend Micro, Kaspersky, Norman and Sophos - failed to reach the
standard required for VB100 certification.
MI5 alert
on China’s cyberspace spy threat (December 07)
Exclusive: director-general of MI5 sends letter to
British companies warning systems are under attack from China.
Websites
sell secret bank data and PINs (December 07)
Security breaches that are allowing the
financial details of tens of thousands of Britons to be sold on the
internet are to be investigated by the country’s information watchdog.
IT pros
fear spyware more than viruses (December 07)
The Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)
surveyed 1,070 businesses earlier this year. Some 55 percent of those
polled reported spyware as their top concern; in particular, respondents
said the volume of spyware they have to combat had increased in the
previous 12 months.
Antispyware is a waste of time
and money (December
07)
Today, every antivirus program will try to block
data-stealing spyware, and most virus fighters block — or at least warn
you about — adware and other unwanted programs.
How to rid
your PC of spyware and rootkits (November 07)
Security Advisor: step-by-step guide.
Looming
Online Security Threats in 2008 (November 07)
Web-based services, including social
networks MySpace and Facebook, are becoming prime targets for hackers
seeking your personal information.
Botmaster
owns up to 250,000 zombie PCs (November 07)
An American computer security consultant on Friday
admitted using massive botnets to illegally install software on at least
250,000 machines and steal online banking identities of Windows users by
evesdropping on them while they made financial transactions.
A000n0000 0000O000l00d00
0I000E000 00T0r0000i0000c000k (October 07)
When I found a malicious script riddled with
0×00 bytes, SANS handler Bojan Zdrnja
explained to me that this was an old trick. When rendering an HTML page,
Internet Explorer will ignore all zero-bytes (bytes with value zero,
0×00). Malware authors use this to obscure their scripts. But this old
trick still packs a punch.
Court
filing in TJX breach doubles toll (October 07)
More than 94 million accounts were affected in the theft of
personal data from TJX Cos.,
a banking group alleged in court filings, more than twice as many
accounts as the Framingham retailer has said were affected in what was
already the largest data breach in history.
Zango Acquires Smart Shopper
(October 07)
Everyone’s favorite love-to-hate spyware company Zango has
acquired browser based comparison shopping engine Smart Shopper for what we’ve
been told by two people related to the company (but unconfirmed directly)
for $9 million.
The
Increasing Complexity of the New Spyware Landscape (October 07)
The ubiquity of computers, particularly home
computers, has led owners to treat them like refrigerators or toasters --
plugging them in, adjusting some initial settings, and using them until
they break or until a different set of features is desired.
IT majors
forge SAFECode alliance (October 07)
The clunkily-monikered
Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (SAFECode)* has signed up
EMC, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, SAP and Symantec as founder members.
Senate
bill allows identity theft victims to seek reimbursement; strengthens
anti-spyware, keylogger regulations (October 07)
The
legislation would eliminate a prosecution requirement that sensitive
information must have been stolen from a computer through interstate or
foreign communications, meaning criminals can more easily be prosecuted
if they hack a computer in the same state.
How bosses
spy on staff (October 07)
DO BOSSES really spy on their staff? The technology
is available for them to track their employees' every move inside - and
outside - the office.
Five of
the Dirtiest Malware Tricks (October 07)
From
disguising applets to look like part of Windows to co-opting security
tools, Web crooks use a variety of methods to bypass your system's
safeguards.
RBC introduces new Phishing
Resource Centre to help protect against online threats (October 07)
Here are ten useful tips on how to help protect yourself
against online
threats.
9 Anti-viruses for Linux users! (October
07)
Even though Linux is highly secure OS , you’ll still find
viruses for it. Linux users are doubling
per year as seen in the recent news . As the number of users have started
to increase, we can expect the increase in viruses too.
Analysts Work on Improved
Antivirus Software Test (October 07)
Antivirus vendors are closer to agreeing on
a new way to test their software after widespread agreement that older
antivirus tests can be misleading.
Malware Boom Puts Pressure on AV
Labs (October 07)
The volume of malware attacks has increased
185 percent in recent months, and antivirus research labs are struggling
to keep up.
Sacked worker blames porn on
malware (October 07)
A US district
judge has upheld a motion to dismiss in the case of hospital respiratory
therapist David Farr, who filed a lawsuit against his former
employer for unlawful termination after losing his job in August 2005.
AT&T defends plan to detect
customers' Net piracy (October 07)
An AT&T executive on Wednesday sought to
defuse fears that forthcoming tools aimed at identifying pirates on its
network will harm the average Net surfer's online experience.
Gathering 'Storm' Superworm
Poses Grave Threat to PC Nets (October 07)
Although it's most commonly called a worm,
Storm is really more: a worm, a Trojan horse and a bot all rolled into
one. It's also the most successful example we have of a new breed of
worm, and I've seen estimates that between 1 million and 50
million computers have been infected worldwide.
Cyberspace still a dangerous
neighborhood (October 07)
The Federal Trade Commission this
morning kicked off National Cyber Security Awareness Month by announcing
a settlement in a case against a distributor of spyware that will cost
the company $330,000.
West is taking fight against
terrorism online. (September 07)
In the name of counterterrorism, Western
countries are moving to erect online security borders with aggressive
proposals to block Web sites and to unleash Trojan e-mails containing spyware
that would monitor jihadists.
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