Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Symantec report proof-of-concept file infector for Mac. Analysts at Symantec have received samples of a proof-of-concept file infector for the Apple Mac OSX platform. The virus, dubbed ‘OSX/Macarena’ after the mid-nineties chart hit and dance craze, is capable of infecting any files executed once it is running – as long as they are in the…

Survey finds emails more irritating than unwanted paper. A study carried out by researchers from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the School of Communication at the University of Miami has found that unsolicited email is perceived as both more annoying and more intrusive than junk mail received through…

New browser version blocking install and updates. Security settings in the new version of Microsoft ‘s web browser, Internet Explorer 7 , are causing problems for users of McAfee software. Controls on ActiveX and software installation require users to accept eight warnings when installing, and nine when updating their software. McAfee have released a workaround…

Campaign uses security news to bypass security. A spam campaign has been spotted, with the emails claiming to come from security giant McAfee and to contain a report on recent malware trends. Documents attached to the mails contain a new variant of the W32M/Kukudro dropper (aka Lafool). The malicious macro drops a trojan to the…

California University publishes Symbian proof of concept. A group of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, (UCSB) have released details and source code for a mobile phone worm, developed as a proof of concept in order to get ‘information about what is needed to develop a mobile phone worm, how mobile phone worms…

The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The November 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: SoftICE, security and the future : Aleksander Czarnowski doesn’t…

StopSpamAlliance unites international bodies. A group of international agencies and organisations have teamed up to launch StopSpamAlliance.org , designed to be a centralised base for data and resources in the fight against junk email. The alliance includes Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a forum promoting economic growth and free trade in the Asia-Pacific region, with 21…

Microsoft reveals all as part of its Open Specification Promise. Microsoft has made its Sender ID Framework specification available as part of its recent Open Specification Promise, allowing developers to use the technology without paying a licence fee to Microsoft and without facing penalties for patent infringement. The Sender ID system ties email addresses to…

Image-based pump-and-dumps add to inbox bloat. Spam levels have continued to rise, defying general trends that would suggest a decreasing post-summer ratio, as more people at work means more legitimate mail. One monitor, managed security provider SoftScan , reports that spam averaged over 89% of email last month, with a single-day high of 96%, narrowly…

US judge rules against suspending Spamhaus domain. At the end of a month-long court battle, a US judge has ruled that UK anti-spam advisory organization Spamhaus will not have its domain suspended as a penalty for mislabelling a spammer. Back in September, a US court found Spamhaus guilty of mislabelling Illinois-based company e360 Insight as…