Technology News: Security

The Mac Cybercrime Immunity Fallacy
November 21, 2009

Recently, ESET commissioned a poll to identify the knowledge, beliefs and experiences of Americans with respect to cybercrime. One of the findings was that 2 percent of Americans think that PCs are not vulnerable to cybercrime, while 9 percent feel a Mac is not vulnerable to cybercrime.

Guiding Cybersecurity Principles for a Swiftly Changing World
November 21, 2009

Cybersecurity is a young and immature field, but it cannot remain so for much longer. We are at a point in time when it is clear that the future will be dramatically different just on basis of technologies that are already in the pipeline. However, there is no clarity but just uncertainty about what will eventually emerge in the next five, 10 or 15 years.

Cyberfraud Arrests Unlikely to Stem ZeuS Rampage
November 18, 2009

British police on Wednesday announced the arrest of two people in the city of Manchester on suspicion of using the so-called ZeuS Trojan horse to commit banking fraud. The couple, who were detained Nov. 3, are out on bail pending trial. ZeuS, also known as "Zbot," is a notorious bit of malware used to steal users' banking and other personal information from their computers.

Senate Committee Flogs Big-Name E-Tailers for Sneaky Sales Tactics
November 18, 2009

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has released a report slamming the online business practices of three direct marketing companies -- Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty -- along with hundreds of online Web sites and retailers that participate in these practices. Many of the participating retailers are well-known brand names, such as Classmates.com, Hotwire and 1-800-Flowers.com.

Cloud Security's Silver Lining: Q&A With ISF President Howard Schmidt
November 18, 2009

The Information Security Forum may bill itself as the world's leading independent authority on IT security, but the companies and agencies that its members work for are finding themselves more dependent than ever on its computer security expertise. Current trends that are expanding access to networks for companies and consumers are also providing more potential opportunities for IT's "bad guys."

Down With Opt-Out, Opt-Tricky Software Distribution
November 18, 2009

Oh, the joy of downloading and installing free software -- only to have a bunch of unwanted, tag-along junkware, or worse, malware, automatically installed on your computer. Why has this unacceptable practice been the norm in the software industry for so many years? The answer to that question is two-fold: money; and lack of a better option.

The Drums of Cyberwar
November 17, 2009

The world's increasing reliance on information technology, combined with the growing sophistication of cybercriminals and cyberattacks, is leading to a sort of cyber-cold war, according to a new report from computer security research firm McAfee. For example, Estonian government and commercial Web sites were hit by a series of denial of service attacks over a period of weeks back in 2007.

Back to Basics: 5 Things IT Could Do Better in 2010
November 17, 2009

Well, it's November again -- which means that it's just about time for this year's set of New Year's predictions. Every year around this time, everyone from antimalware companies to analyst firms line up to tell us about the top IT and security trends -- what they are and why we should care.

Microsoft Addresses Prickly Pair of Windows 7 Flaws
November 16, 2009

Windows 7, which was publicly released Oct. 22, has been hit by at least two security flaws. One of these lets hackers execute code remotely; the other lets them trigger an infinite loop remotely, causing a kernel crash. Both are flaws in SMBv2, security researcher Laurent Gaffie, who posted details about them on his blog, told TechNewsWorld.

Network Forensics and Digital Time Travel
November 16, 2009

Network forensics is the capture, storage and analysis of network traffic. You might also hear the term referred to as "packet mining," "packet forensics," or "digital forensics." Regardless of the name, the concept is the same, with the objective to record every packet and the data it contains moving across the network and storing it for some period of time.

Safe Mac Computing on an Unsafe Web
November 14, 2009

We first saw the Apple Macintosh at the 1984 Super Bowl. At the time, IBM and Microsoft gave us only text-based computing. The Mac appeared looking like nothing we had ever seen. Its screen was all graphics, all the time. It had a mouse, the first one seen by most people. It was smaller than a PC, lighter and more portable.

Everyone's Stoked About Cyber Monday - Vendors, Customers and Hackers
November 14, 2009

Less than 20 days until Cyber Monday. You've got staffing queued up. Your warehouse is full. Your shipper is standing by. But have you considered what will happen on your Web site after a flood of qualified buyers click on the irresistible and precisely worded ad for your product or service? You've got one shot -- one day -- to win their holiday business.

Google Latitude Lets Users Follow Their Own Footprints
November 11, 2009

Users of Google's location-aware mobile software can now track their whereabouts over time and receive alerts when contacts are nearby, thanks to two features added to the software on Tuesday. The free application, Google Latitude, was introduced earlier this year for a variety of cellphones.

Drawing Security-Spooked Customers Into the E-Commerce Fold
November 11, 2009

Many consumers are still afraid of shopping online, and it's not hard to see why, with reports of fraud, identity theft, data loss and other security breaches regularly making the news. The fact is, though, online shopping is safer than ever before, and new and emerging security technologies, methods and standards are being implemented every day.

The PC Privacy Battle at the Border
November 11, 2009

Civil liberties groups continue to lock horns with the Department of Homeland Security over border searches of electronic equipment, although relatively few people have been affected. The Department's statistics show that only 1,000 laptops were searched between October 2008 and August 2009, a time period in which more than 221 million travelers came through U.S. ports of entry.

How Etailers Can Take On the Whole World
November 10, 2009

The majority of global markets are growing significantly faster than the United States. Bill Gates has even stated that in the 21st century, a business must use e-commerce to survive. In this economy, thinking outside the proverbial box and expanding a company without taking on significant overhead or structural changes means selling beyond geographic borders.