Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

New Windows version on sale, but viruses remain a threat, says Sophos The corporate version Microsoft ‘s long-awaited update to its Windows operating system was finally released last week, with home-user editions expected in January. The launch party fireworks were damped somewhat by an announcement from Sophos , revealing that in tests 3 out of…

The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The December 2006 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download in PDF format. Just a few of the things this month’s issue has in store are: What is anti-virus software? : Robert Sandlilands reasons that…

Remember VB94? Were you at VB94 in Jersey? VB has unearthed some photos taken at the fourth Virus Bulletin Conference. To see those who were the fresh faces of the anti-virus industry 12 years ago, or simply to reminisce, visit http://www.virusbtn.com/conference/vb94/photos.xml . Posted on 01 December 2006 by Virus Bulletin

Anti-spam activist sued in case that brings enforceability of state anti-spam laws into question. An anti-spam activist has successfully been sued in a US federal court by the company he accused of spamming. VB reported on Mumma’s story last year (see VB, April 2005, p.S1 ). After receiving four unsolicited emails from online travel agent…

Collection of 419 baiting tales. If you’re stuck for a last-minute Christmas gift idea, Mike Berry’s new book could be the answer. Mike Berry is the creator of ‘scam-baiting’ website www.419eater.com , which records his (and others’) attempts to fight back at the perpetrators of 419 scams. Berry has been scam baiting for several years…

Yuletide wishes. The VB team wishes all Virus Bulletin readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous and peaceful new year. This year, continuing the tradition of its Christmas charity donations, VB has made a donation to Crisis , a UK-based charity providing services and support for the homeless ( http://www.crisis.org.uk/ ). Posted on 01…

Commission report calls for smarter response to online onslaught. An official statement from the European Commission has demanded a step up in the battle against spam, spyware and other malware, urging EU member states to follow the example of the Netherlands, which has achieved an 85% reduction in domestic spam thanks to a dedicated agency…

Long-patched vulnerability attacked by new Spybot. A version of the Spybot worm has been spotted attempting to use a vulnerability in Symantec Client Security and Symantec Antivirus , despite the flaw being discovered and patched six months ago. The worm, dubbed W32.Spybot.ACYR by Symantec researchers, also tries to exploit several well-known Microsoft vulnerabilities, and is…

Research group releases report on future spam trends. Technology market research firm The Radicati Group has unveiled an in-depth study of likely future trends in the European email security world over the next five years, featuring some grim figures for email users. With current spam rates at around 16 billion per day across the continent,…

Flaw in OpenSSL could allow DoS on servers. A vulnerability in OpenSSL software, used to access the administration interface in some F-Secure gateway and mail protection products, could allow remote attackers to carry out a denial of service attack on servers running the product, F-Secure have announced. The OpenSSL flaw can also be used to…