John Lister

Microsoft has unveiled an updated edition of its free security software, dubbed Microsoft Security Essentials. The new edition of Security Essentials is currently in beta edition and offers several new features. Debuting in September 2009, Microsoft ... Security Essentials replaces Windows Live OneCare which was based on a paid subscription model. At the time, OneCare was seen as a potential threat to the commercial cyber security market. (Source: pcworld.com ) Although there's no evidence yet of a significant effect on sales of premium security products, most reviews of Microsoft Security ... (view more)

Two security researchers say they've managed to prove a long-standing theory about how hackers breach online security. It involves taking advantage of a split-second quirk in the verification of online processing. The exploit could affect millions ... of online users, as it involves two login schemes which have been widely adopted by large corporate sites. (Source: computerworld.com ) Timing Attack is Key to Exploit The technique in question is known as a timing attack. It works on the basis that some password-protected systems will automatically reject an incorrect password as soon as it finds a ... (view more)

After a lengthy dispute, Facebook has agreed to include a "panic button" for children to report threatening behavior. However, critics suggest that the voluntary scheme doesn't go far enough for child safety campaigners. Demands for the button came ... from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) in the United Kingdom. The group has produced a clickable button which can be added to Internet Explorer: clicking the button takes the user straight to a page where they can report unsuitable material or inappropriate behavior CEOP estimates an average of four youngsters who click the ... (view more)

A security researcher says hackers could take control of millions of routers. Craig Heffner, of security firm Seismic, says half of the models he tested were vulnerable to a recently discovered hack. Routers, which allow an Internet connection to be ... shared among multiple computers, are extremely common -- especially for those of us who use high-speed Internet. Even if you own only one computer and don't share your connection with others in your household or office, chances are you're using a router of some kind. In short, the router acts as a gateway to the Internet and directs traffic back ... (view more)

It's often argued that restaurants are the most likely place for people to suffer credit card fraud. But a new report claims hotels are actually the most at-risk locations. The restaurant theory is based on the fact that people are more likely to ... hand over cards and let them out of their sight as they are taken away for processing. But security firm Trustwave believes the real danger isn't dishonest staff or venues, but rather criminals attempting to intercept data transmissions. 38% Of Fraud Cases Involved Hotels Trustwave recently evaluated credit card hacking reports for 2009 and found ... (view more)

Internet troublemakers, whether malicious or mischievous, often try to capitalize on interest in celebrities. That's the case with singer Justin Bieber, who has been the victim of at least three online hacker campaigns. The first incident took place ... when hackers discovered a recent flaw in YouTube's site design which allowed for a cross-site scripting attack . That's a potentially serious measure that allows a hacker to put their own malicious programming code into somebody else's website. In this case, the hackers were able to post code in the comments section and have that code run ... (view more)

An Australian supermarket chain has admitted it has found viruses on its self-service photo kiosks. The company is now working on adding anti-virus software to the machines. The incident involves Big W outlets, part of the Woolworths chain. It has ... 1,800 kiosks that allow users to print their own photographs direct from a digital source. One customer, who unfortunately for the chain writes a blog about computer security, found that after using a kiosk his USB stick was infected with a Trojan horse. The Trojan soon after prepared to attack his computer by disabling antivirus programs, and ... (view more)

While the Applie iPhone 4 has sold tremendously well, its launch has been mired by complaints of poor signal reception. It's been widely assumed this was due to the fact the new model is designed so that the antenna actually forms the perimeter of ... the handset itself. It appears that the hand, particularly if touching the bottom of the left hand edge of the phone, reduces the signal. One theory is that it isn't the physical blocking which is the issue, but rather than some of the energy in the signal is absorbed by the hand in the form of heat. (Source: tmcnet.com ) Apple Advertisements ... (view more)

In a stunning development, Microsoft is preparing to kill off its much-hyped "social-focused" mobile phone, Kin. It follows some poor decisions about how to price the phone given its audience. The Kin was in development for several years under the ... codename Project Pink. For much of this time, it was widely speculated the phone would be based around the Zune media player, acting as a direct rival to Apple's iPhone. Instead, the two handsets, Kin One and Kin Two, were based around social networking updates and the ability to share content like photographs with friends. Unlike most phones today ... (view more)

Microsoft says more than 10,000 computers have been attacked through a bug in the Windows XP help system. Strangely, it has resisted criticizing the security researcher who publicized the security flaw. The bug involves the way XP directs web ... browsers towards help pages, having first checked the page against a "whitelist" to make sure it is legitimate. It's possible for hackers to exploit the flaw by fooling the computer during this checking process. The result is that the browser can be relocated to a page containing malicious software. Microsoft hasn't yet found a permanent solution to the ... (view more)