Category: blog
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Tough weekend for AV giants as FPs and DNS issues hit
Trend false alert cripples users’ systems, Sophos sites taken out by DNS mixup. Two of the larger security firms, Trend Micro and Sophos , had a busy weekend cleaning up after troubles hit them on Friday. Trend Micro released a pair of signature updates which led to its products erroneously identifying several Windows system files…
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Google shows off in-house browser beta
Open-source ‘Chrome’ promises security as well as efficiency. Ever-expanding web giant Google has released an early version of its own browser, developed in house but under open-source principles, with a number of built-in security systems and techniques supplementing new ideas for speed and efficiency. The browser, dubbed ‘ Chrome ‘, will include alerts from Google…
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AV-Test release latest results
Major test of suite products completed Independent testing body AV-Test.org has released the results of a major comparative of suite products, with many vendors’ 2009 editions included in the results. The test covers a range of metrics, including detection rates over various types of malware including adware and spyware, false positive rates, scanning speed, proactive…
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Malware reaches space station
Autorun worm found on non-critical systems. US space agency NASA has confirmed reports that laptops in use on the international space station have been found to have been infected with password-stealing malware. The infected systems are said to be non-mission-critical and used by space station crew for email and recording data from ‘nutritional experiments’. According…
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Best Western database hack exposes info on 8m customers
Hotel chain data heist latest in string of major security leaks. The global hotel chain Best Western has had its network security breached, leading to full details of thousands of its customers being harvested and made available for sale on hacker websites. The haul of sensitive information is one of the biggest in a wave…
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AMTSO releases draft guidelines for public comment
First major publication emerges from testing standards body. The Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, the global body set up to improve and support the testing of security software, has made available a draft of its first document, a set of general guidelines intended to encourage greater accuracy, reliability and trustworthiness in testing. The document provides guidance…
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Symantec to acquire PC Tools
Industry giant adds spyware specialist to growing portfolio. Security industry behemoth Symantec has announced the planned acquisition of PC Tools , the Australia-based company behind Spyware Doctor and a range of security, privacy and system-cleaning products. Symantec plans to close the deal by the end of the year, keeping PC Tools as a separate unit…
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Net threats cost US $8.5 billion in two years
Study measures scale of scamming and other web worries. US consumer watchdog body Consumer Reports have released their annual ‘State of the Net’ study, finding a noticeable decline in malware and spam issues, but still significant amounts of money lost to malware and phishing, estimated at $8.5 billion over a two-year period. The survey covered…
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Malware writing teacher revives old rows
College instructor claims to be fighting industry monopoly. As announced to much controversy last year, a course in computer security at Sonoma State University, California, is teaching students to write their own viruses, keyloggers, spambots and other malicious software. According to a high-profile piece in Newsweek magazine, the teacher of the course, Dr George Ledin,…
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DNS flaw exploitation danger growing
Slow patchers targeted by sophisticated attacks. The serious vulnerability in the implementation of DNS systems has been targeted by malicious attacks, as security watchers have been predicting since the flaw was first disclosed. With many developers and service providers yet to implement patching regimes for the issue, those still leaving their servers open for spoofing…