Security

It's not often you hear about smartphones being infiltrated by hackers using phishing schemes, but a recent Research in Motion security fix is designed to prevent just that kind of issue. The Waterloo, Ontario-based Research in Motion, which ... produces the extremely popular BlackBerry smartphone, late last week issued a patch for a reported vulnerability which left many of its users susceptible to attack by phishing hackers. According to reports, the flaw could allow a remote hacker to fool a BlackBerry owner into visiting a malicious website with their handheld multimedia device. A BlackBerry ... (view more)

Microsoft has released free security software for Windows. But the company has confirmed it will only work with legitimate copies of the operating system. The software, once codenamed Morro , is now known as "Security Essentials." It's a replacement ... for OneCare, a previous Microsoft security product that was not free. Effective, but Falls Short of Rivals Independent tests of the finished product suggest it's a useful tool, though falls short of the protection offered by commercial rivals. One company testing it found Security Essentials detected 98.4% of malware and 90.9% of spyware ... (view more)

Don't Fall Prey to the IRS Email Scam! Download our Top 10 PC Security Essentials Tech Report at the end of this article, or click to here to visit our Top 10 Tech Reports self-serve kiosk, now! Playing on the natural reservations people have about ... tax collectors, the latest scareware offering from hackers is not only devious and misleading, but is now being recognized as the single most virus-based spam delivered in the world. Hackers often reinvent themselves when seeking new and effective tactics in the hopes of getting more people to download malware and other forms of computer infections ... (view more)

Microsoft is scrambling this morning to find and release a fix for a newly discovered flaw that could end in the unraveling of a new and possibly devastating Windows worm. According to reports breaking late last night, hackers have made known the ... release of a new attack code capable of exploiting a bug in the Windows operating system (OS). The weakness has been public knowledge since the beginning of September, but until this week no one seemed to be taking advantage. That has changed now that Harmony Security Senior Researcher Stephen Fewer has developed an attack that allows a hacker to run ... (view more)

A new approach to computer security could see an army of "ants" summoned to rid the online world of worms, bugs and other pestilent e-vermin. Interestingly enough, these "virtual ants" will work as an important defense against most forms of malware ... , but it is the manner in which they operate that earn them their insect namesake. In actuality, the virtual ants are computer programs designed to roam around a given network in search of anomalies. The idea to use the ant-like hierarchy came from a senior research scientist Glenn Fink, at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, ... (view more)

Over the next four years, Australia's New South Wales region will be dolling out 240,000 Lenovo laptops. The goal is to give every high school student a computer by 2012 -- and protecting that many computers has become a matter of top priority. ... Machines Use RFID and Tracking The machines will be equipped with Windows 7 and Microsoft Office, and thanks to bulk pricing, will cost no more than $500 each. To keep costs down, officials have arranged for the machines to be customized with a range of security measures. As well as password protection, there's also tracking software and an RFID chip ... (view more)

A critical flaw in Microsoft's Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 has been addressed by a recent temporary "Fix It" solution. The workaround for the problem in the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol version 2 could prevent hackers from remotely ... invading and raiding your operating system's data. Win7 RC Not Spared Vulnerability Plenty of press surrounded the fact that the problem affected early versions of Windows 7, which is due to be released to the public this coming October 22nd. Some analysts wondered aloud if the issue could mar the company's big launch party. To date, there haven't ... (view more)

In an ongoing effort to evade malware detection, hackers have started to hide their 'command and control' instructions in legitimate sites like Twitter and Google Groups -- and with limited fear of being discovered. Recent Google Groups Trojan News ... of a recent attack broke after security specialists at Symantec followed a Trojan horse programmed to visit a private "Google Groups" newsgroup called escape2sun. After visiting the page, PCs were instructed to download encrypted instructions and software updates for malware. Experts call these 'command and control' instructions and are used to ... (view more)

Record-breaking hacker Albert Gonzalez has pleaded guilty to the largest credit card heist scheme ever. The 28 year old Miami man recently admitted to hacking various computer networks and swiping millions of credit card numbers. Gonzalez, who ... pleaded guilty to a total of nineteen counts of computer fraud, conspiracy, wire fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft, was not alone in the scheme. He, along with about ten others from across Europe, China, and the United States, had been accused of breaking into computer networks in order to swipe an astounding 130 million credit ... (view more)

The latest case of malware infestation is once again targeting Facebook , this time masquerading as a virus removal kit designed to rid the computer world of a bogus "Fan Check" bug. Fan Check: Valid App, but 'Bug' is Bogus While the Fan Check "bug" ... does not really exist, Fan Check is in fact a valid Facebook application used on Facebook.com. The purpose of the Fan Check application is to rank friends based on how often they interact with your Facebook pages. (Source: facebook.com ). The new malware, however, is rather devious because it pretends to defend against a made-up virus, ... (view more)