Blogs3,508 Entries

Microsoft admits IE 6 and 7 vulnerability

March 10, 2010

PC securityA new security hole in Internet Explorer 6 and 7 can be targeted via code on a poisoned website, Microsoft has warned. A successful attacker could install malware on a victim PC or run any other remote command.

The invalid pointer reference bug, described in Microsoft Security Advisory 981374, is already being hit by targeted attacks, according to Microsoft. The company only released a warning, rather than a patch to go along with its regularly scheduled Patch Tuesday. There isn't yet any fix or real workaround, but Internet Explorer 8 is not affected by the bug.

PC World staff | Read more...


Of thrills and information spills

March 4, 2010

PC securityHave you heard the one about the Scotland Yard staff who couldn't resist sharing the odd tale on Facebook? Given their line of work, you'd think they'd practise a bit of caution. Stories like these are manna to the press, you know. They're also of interest to another none-too-popular group: hackers.

It's not just ironic tittle-tattle you have to watch out for: information of all types can come in useful. It's no small coincidence that thrillers and detective novels often centre on what someone knows or what they have in their possession.

Rosemary Hattersley | Read more...


Facebook security holes can't go on

February 24, 2010

PC securityA frustrated Facebook user, unable to contact the social networking site directly, writes an open letter discussing what he sees as the site's security shortcomings.

Dear Facebook,

Ira Winkler | Read more...


McAfee Total Protection 2010 security software

February 22, 2010

McAfee has enhanced its 2010 line of security software with scans that are up to eight times faster.

Symantec says the software, which was initially launched late last year, now has a number of new features and will be automatically rolled-out free of charge to customers that have already purchased the 2010 version of McAfee Total Protection or McAfee Internet Security.

Carrie-Ann Skinner | Read more...


Thank Microsoft for Patch Tuesday. Really

February 15, 2010

MicrosoftAs a child I had two ambitions: to buy and eat the entire contents of a chocolate vending machine, and to make it into the Guinness Book of Records. Ambition one has been long-since fulfilled (many times), but the closest I'll ever get to Norris McWhirter is reporting on Microsoft's increasingly spectacular software updates.

Microsoft releases updates for its major products on the second Tuesday of every month: Patch Tuesday. In February, this comprised 26 software patches, including a record-equalling (and unlucky for some) 13 security fixes - five of them marked 'critical'.

Matt Egan | Read more...


Free and friendly Windows security software? What's the catch?

February 8, 2010

Avast! Free AV securityAn anti-virus solution for Windows that's free, respects your personal privacy and doesn't get in your face? I'm currently trialling Avast! Free, a free-to-download package from Alwil Software. And historically, Avast! is also rated well in AV group tests. The only drawback I've seen so far is the daft Yahooesque! exclamation mark in the name...

Depending on how you measure it, most anti-virus software is at least 90% effective against the majority of virus, Trojan and worm threats. That figure drops significantly, though, when you include the most up-to-date flavours of malware, the stuff that's updated daily by the eager developers.

Andrew Harrison | Read more...


Will 2010 be the year of spam?

January 25, 2010

PC securityIf you think spam attacks were bad in 2009, just wait until 2010 gets going. You ain't seen nothing yet.

In its 2009 Annual Security Report [PDF], the networking gurus at Cisco predict that worldwide spam volumes will increase by 30 or 40 percent over 2009 levels.

Brennon Slattery | Read more...


Windows and Internet Explorer: all versions compromised

January 15, 2010

Microsoft leaves the door openA widespread but highly targeted cyber-attack shows that all versions of Windows can be compromised by a determined hacker - right now.

The consensus is that the attack came from Chinese-sponsored agents, using every trick they could to hack specific, profiled targets. These weren't your usual criminals aiming the daily blind scattergun at a huge swathe of Windows users, hoping to find those without anti-virus software, or running unpatched and outdated versions of Windows.

Rupert Misiek | Read more...


Encryption – considering the hard and soft options

January 5, 2010

Security blogNews this week that certain Kingston secure USB drives suffer from a serious security flaw has prompted me to consider the question: which is the better solution, hardware or software data encryption?

Traditional reasoning has been that hardware encryption is more robust, as it provides a ringed wall against prying eyes for sensitive data, where software-based solutions have the data in plain view - albeit scrambled such that only the right key can reassemble the data.

Andrew Harrison | Read more...


Do Macs need security software?

November 11, 2009

AppleActually, the question should be: when will Macs start to need security software? It's going to happen sometime, Macfans, and you might as well get used to that fact.

Geoff, the revered IT admin here at PC Advisor Towers, would say 'right now', and insists that all the Macs in the office have up-to-date antivirus, firewalls and the rest. But the key industry journalist sitting in my chair has been running a web-connected, AV-free Powerbook G4 for more than five years, with no discernible downside. And I'm not going to be shelling out any time soon.

Matt Egan | Read more...


Android vs iPhone: security nightmare

November 6, 2009

iPhone smartphoneHere's an ad you'll never see: "The new Vodafone (or T-Mobile or O2 or Orange) smartphone: Your IT department's best friend."

After all, the smartphone wars have been about the consumer for some time now, promising more features, more fun, more glitz.

Bill Snyder | Read more...


Why Google wants you to use a single password

November 4, 2009

securityIt's one of the basic tenets of online security: never use the same password/username combo for every website that requires one. The logic is sound, of course. A single security breach could expose your most private information - such as banking and credit card numbers - to the bad guys.

Problem is, who can remember multiple passwords and usernames? Many times I've signed up for a service, returned to the site a few weeks later, and quickly realised that I couldn't remember my login details.

Jeff Bertolucci | Read more...


Microsoft faces a tough fight with 'malvertisers'

September 21, 2009

PC securityMicrosoft is filing lawsuits that it hopes will hold to account the people who have disguised malware as advertising. The problem is that no one knows the identity or whereabouts of the culprits.

The software company, which is filing five civil lawsuits against businesses that have taken up ads designed to transmit viruses and other harmful material, faces an uphill battle.

JR Raphael | Read more...


Norton 2010 security software

September 10, 2009

Protection is the priority for Symantec this year, in the annual roll-out of updates for its Norton range of security software. (See: Symantec Norton Internet Security 2010 review.)

While last year's Norton AntiVirus 2009 and Norton Internet Security 2009 were designed to address the long-running problem of performance - that is the slowdown of a Windows PC after Norton was installed - Symantec is now focusing on catching the remainder of online threats that still bypass all anti-malware software products.

Andrew Harrison | Read more...


Lessons to learn from Twitter security breach

July 20, 2009

PC securityI can't help but feel sorry for Twitter. It's been revealed that the French hacker who broke into Twitter's internal systems a couple of months ago has been up to mischief again, creating more embarrassment for the micro-blogging network.

Last time Hacker Croll gained access to the Twitter administration console, giving him access to the accounts of millions of Twitter users. He posted screenshots revealing that he'd been able to access private information regarding the accounts of the likes of Barack Obama, Britney Spears, Ashton Kutcher and Lily Allen.

Graham Cluley | Read more...


Zero-day attack concern for Internet Explorer users

July 14, 2009

PC securityMicrosoft has warned of a serious security vulnerability in a Spreadsheet ActiveX control that could allow for a drive-by-download attack against vulnerable PCs.

The news means there are now two critical, unpatched holes involving flawed ActiveX controls (the first was disclosed last week) that could make Internet Explorer users vulnerable to drive-by-download attacks if they simply view a poisoned web page. Microsoft's advisory doesn't specify whether IE 8.0 might mitigate the new threat, but it does list these software components as installing the flawed ActiveX:

Erik Larkin | Read more...


The one essential truth of computer security

July 6, 2009

Stop malwareWho doesn't love that scene in "A Few Good Men" in which Jack Nicholson's character tells Tom Cruise's character, "You can't handle the truth. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said 'Thank you' and went on your way."

I often feel like I'm acting out that scenario when speaking to CIOs and senior security leaders. They want me to tell them how to stop hackers and malware from invading their environments. Usually I'm consulting on some multitiered firewall/proxy/security solution aimed at protecting back-end databases. We talk about packet-inspecting firewalls, intrusion detection, two-factor authentication, and all sorts of high-tech defensive solutions that add several layers to their defence-in-depth protection.

Roger Grimes | Read more...


How to secure your PC: pile on the layers

July 1, 2009

PC SecurityIt used to be so simple. To secure your PC, you simply shelled out 30 or 40 notes for an internet security suite, it checked your system's files against a database of known malware, and then removed any that matched up. Safe.

Actually, it was never that straightforward. Take a quick glance through PC Advisor's reviews of security products, and you'll see that even the best miss some things. In the world of the zero-day threat, that's not good enough.

Matt Egan | Read more...


Microsoft Security Essentials is a no brainer

June 26, 2009

PC securityPeople often turn to me for advice regarding what anti-virus package to get. Usually I recommend McAfee or AVG, but Security Essentials will be my go-to anti-malware package once it's released from beta. For small-business and home users, the price, performance, and ease-of-use of MSE can't be beat.

Of course, this is all meaningless if the product isn't effective. Fortunately, preliminary Microsoft Security Essentials tests show it to be very effective.

Michael Scalisi | Read more...


Panda security software

June 25, 2009

Panda security softwarePanda Security has unveiled four new security programs Panda Antivirus for Netbooks, Panda Antivirus Pro 2010 and Panda Internet Security 2010, and Panda Global Protection 2010.

The security firm said its AntiVirus for Netbooks was specifically designed for the small low-powered laptops and offers anti-spyware, anti-phishing and anti-rootkit technology along with a firewall and an identity protection function.

Carrie-Ann Skinner | Read more...


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