Bill Lindner

A new type of worm has been reported to infect 55 different home-based routers and DSL/cable modems has been discovered. Originating in Australia, Psyb0t, is the first worm capable of infecting residential routers and modems, including common brands ... like Linksys and Netgear. A blog post from DroneBL researchers says that Psyb0t (also known as Bluepill) is suspected of infecting at least 100,000 hosts. (Source: dronebl.org ) Check Your Vulnerability According to DroneBL, you're only vulnerable if: Your network device is a mipsel device Your device allows telnet , SSH or web-based interfaces ... (view more)

A recent report by the BBC News claims that makers of rogue anti-virus software are making as much as $10,800 a day from selling their dubious fake security software to unknowing computer users. (Source: bbc.co.uk ) A typical scenario: a user ... misspells a web address in a browser and is instantly redirected to a forged web page. From there, the visitor is bombarded with bogus popup warnings claiming that the visitor's PC is infected with malicious programs. The warnings say you'll need to download and pay for anti-virus software costing about $50 to clean up the (non-existent) infection. This ... (view more)

The UK Government is now considering the mass surveillance of all user communications on social-networking sites. The EU Data Retention Directive , which directs UK Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to store its customers' names, addresses, IP ... address, user IDs and all email and Internet telephony communications for a year apparently aren't enough for Home Office Security Minister Vernon Coaker. He suggests that communications like those on social-networking sites as well as instant messaging should also be monitored. Harvesting And Storing All Internet Communications Speaking at a meeting of ... (view more)

Netbooks are one of the few bright spots in a weakened economy. Surging sales of these devices have resulted in computer makers like Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Asus scurrying to rush out new models. And computer makers aren't alone. Mobile ... phone manufacturers like Samsung and LG Electronics view netbooks as extensions of the smartphone. Nokia has also confirmed that it is considering entering the netbook market with a version of its own. (Source: iht.com ) Snagging Control of the Netbook Market Another competition between computer and mobile phone manufacturers is raging behind the ... (view more)

With the growing popularity of social networking comes a growing list of social search engines that can turn up all kinds of embarrassing and potentially invasive information about you. The issue raises questions about what other revealing ... information is out there and what can be done to protect oneself. Besides making online stalking easy , specialized search engines are making it increasingly easier to combine socially shared information together into a highly detailed profile of our virtual lives. These specialized search engines go by a variety of terms such as "social search" ... (view more)

Nielsen.com reports that social networking and blogging have overtaken email to become the world's fourth most popular online sector after searching portals and PC software applications. Online networking sites are used to post gossip and other ... details about peoples' lives, but they have also become a crucial means of communication during disasters as they unfold. Time accounted for by 'Member Communities', or Facebook-like sites, has more than doubled in most of the countries monitored. 51% of Germans now access the sector, compared to 39% a year ago, giving Germany the strongest growth rate ... (view more)

The California woman suing Microsoft over Windows Vista's downgrade rights has revised her lawsuit to focus on the requirement that users must buy the most expensive versions of Vista if they want to downgrade to Windows XP. Los Angeles resident ... Emma Alvarado repeated her charges that Microsoft violated Washington state's unfair business practices and consumer protection laws by restricting computer makers' ability to offer Windows XP on new PCs after Vista's launch in the amended complaint. Microsoft Took Advantage Of Consumer Demand, Suit Says According to Computer World, the lawsuit says ... (view more)

Denise Finkel is suing Facebook, Inc. and four former classmates of University of Albany student for defamation. Finkel claims that comments intended to embarrass and humiliate her were posted on the popular social networking site. Filed on February ... 24, 2009 in New York Supreme Court, Finkel states her reputation and character were greatly injured by comments posted in a private group implying she has AIDS, uses drugs, and engages in deviant behavior, like bestiality. Denise Finkel was a victim of a growing Internet trend called cyberbullying . She is suing both Facebook for $3 million in ... (view more)

How much thought do you give to security when you use your credit card at a retail location? According to the Chicago Tribune, most consumers don't think about what happens to their credit card information when their plastic gets swiped at the cash ... register. Unfortunately, large retailers have networks that are potentially vulnerable to breaches connected to cash registers, bar code scanners and store computers. (Source: chicagotribune.com ) In some high-profile cases of network vulnerability, thieves don't just pluck one credit card number. They pluck millions of them. For instance, in 2007 ... (view more)

The frightening Conficker worm is just getting bigger and meaner all the time. W32.Downadup.C, a third variant of the Conficker/Downadup worm , is reportedly being pushed out to systems that are already infected. Analysis of the third variant of the ... worm by Symantec is still in the early stages, but their initial research found a couple of new attributes -- one of which includes targeting antivirus software and security tools with the intention of disabling them. (Source: symantec.com ) New Variant Protects itself from AntiVirus Software The Conficker/Downadup authors moved from a 250-a-day ... (view more)