malware

A new virus found to have infected the United States Air Force's military drone control system is nothing more than a "nuisance," the Air Force reported last week. The Air Force suggested that the problem was easily overcome. Last week the U.S. Air ... Force confirmed that it had detected malware on portable hard drives used at the Creech Air Force Base for relaying data between its various systems. Some analysts were alarmed by that news, since Creech is the main base for the Air Force's Predator drone. Although the device can target enemies all over the world, it is piloted from Creech in Clark ... (view more)

Google has launched a new service designed to warn users that they are infected with a particular type of Windows malware. However, the move has raised concerns that it could make things easier for scammers. Web Pages Redirected Using Malicious ... Proxy Server The service is actually integrated with Google's search results page, and the warning message will only display when a computer appears to be infected. (Source: thetechherald.com ) The Google strategy involves a specific form of malicious software that affects Windows computers. When users attempt to visit a webpage, their visit is routed ... (view more)

Microsoft has been judged the clear winner in a recent test of how well web browsers block unintended access to malicious software on websites. It's great news for Microsoft's reputation, though some critics suggest the methods used in the test may ... be lacking. Browser Malware Protection Tested, Compared The browser comparison was conducted by independent security firm NSS labs. The test observed a feature known as browser protection, which appears in all the major browsers under various names. In general, browser protection is designed to deal with situations where users are tricked into ... (view more)

According to a new report from Microsoft, 1 in every 14 PC programs found on the web are laced with malware . The statistics come courtesy of the Redmond-based firm's Internet Explorer SmartScreen filter, which is designed to figure out a program's ... reputation before proceeding with a download. The SmartScreen filter first appeared in Internet Explorer 7 and continues to be developed with Internet Explorer 9. The latest edition of SmartScreen now checks the reputation of downloads. (Source: betanews.com ) "Using reputation helps protect users from newly released malware programs -- pretending ... (view more)

A recent report revealed that many businesses still have no plans to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, leaving their ailing PCs at higher risk for malware. That may change, however, with a new report suggesting that Windows 7 is five times less ... likely to be infected by malware than its predecessor. Windows 7 Five Times More Secure than XP The study comes from Microsoft's own Security Intelligence Report, which is released annually. The report not only revealed that Windows 7 is five times more secure against malware than a machine running Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), but it was also ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed that the infection rate for Windows 7 computers has increased. But the Windows 7 operating system still remains considerably more secure than its predecessors. The most talked-about figure in the newly-published statistics is ... a 33 per cent hike in the proportion of Windows 7 computers suffering from a malware infection. That's a potentially misleading oversimplification, though. The actual rate increased during 2010 from three PCs per thousand to four per thousand, figures that could easily be distorted by rounding errors. Windows XP Still Riskiest for Malware ... (view more)

Microsoft Security Essentials has put on a mediocre showing in a series of recent tests run by international examiners AV-Test.org. The results were deemed so poor that Microsoft actually placed 20th out of 22 antivirus products tested. MSE Strong ... at Detecting Known Variants Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 (MSE) started off the testing procedures relatively strong when required to uncover malware drawn from industry-agreed Wildlist selection, including malware variants such as the Koobface virus . In this test, Microsoft Security Essentials finished with an impressive detection rate of 100 ... (view more)

Security firm Symantec says it's found a new and very fake Google "security program" designed to install malware on Google Android smartphones. Called the Android Market Security Tool, the fake software is actually a repackaged Google-built tool ... with origins in the Far East. Symantec discovered the fake tool last Wednesday. It actually imitates a program of the same name released by Google last week and was found in Chinese markets not sanctioned by the search giant. (Source: symantec.com ) Fake Security Software a Clever Ploy by Malware Designers Symantec says it's all a very ... (view more)

Amidst reports that threats to Macs are steadily increasing , security firm Sophos is now offering a free version of its business antivirus software to Apple computer fans. It's a pretty good deal: dubbed Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for Mac, the ... software comes with no strings attached and will be updated forever (or the foreseeable future). The Sophos software has been adapted from its business roots so that it is easier to install and operate. (Source: zdnet.co.uk ) According to Chris Kraft, Sophos product management vice president, the Mac offering is the exact same model currently being ... (view more)

With the Windows family still allowing Microsoft to enjoy the lion's share of the OS market, rival companies are forever left to jockey for second place. While the goal for these companies is to one day surpass Windows in popularity, there has ... always been one benefit in playing "second fiddle" to Microsoft: hackers tend follow user demographics. This means that Windows is as much a popular choice for malware attacks as it is for consumers. Such is true for Apple, who listed only 34 known vulnerabilities within the Mac OS family back in 2009. While even one vulnerability should be cause for ... (view more)