Technology News: Malware

A Week of Free Updates, Free Advice and Free Speech

Friday - June 19, 2009

What we're seeing in Iran could be the beginning of some big political changes. Fishy results in the presidential election last week have led to massive protests, some of which have turned violent. The way the news about the country's turbulence is reaching other parts of the world is monumental in its own right -- symptomatic of the changes that have been brewing ever since the term "Web 2.0" moved into cliché territory. Iran's efforts to suppress international news coverage of the unrest have largely failed, because the tools of journalism are in the hands of too many. [More...]

China Scrambles to Repair Crumbling Green Dam

Monday - June 15, 2009

For years, China's government has kept the country's Internet surfers on a very short leash. Censors attempt to block any content considered immoral, which could be anything from pornography to politically charged blog posts. Its latest plan is to order the installation of filtering software directly into all personal computers. [More...]

Google Is the Sarah Palin of Enterprise Vendors

Monday - May 25, 2009

We all remember Sarah Palin. Like many, I too got excited about the difference she would bring to the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. She showed well at events, and she looked good on paper. Then came her interviews, and suddenly she was the new Dan Quayle -- or, basically, another person who trades on looks and luck and doesn't figure doing homework is actually necessary. [More...]

Chrome 2.0 Juices Up JavaScript

Friday - May 22, 2009

Google on Thursday revealed Chrome 2.0, a purportedly faster and more feature-filled version of the search giant's Web browser. The extra speed comes from an update to its V8 JavaScript engine and from a new version of the open source WebKit rendering engine. However, Chrome's speed advantage may soon be overshadowed by rivals. [More...]

You Could Be File-Sharing More Than You Think

Thursday - May 14, 2009

With the Congressional Oversight and Government Reform Committee taking a fresh look at the privacy and security risks posed by using LimeWire and other peer-to-peer file-sharing applications, now is a good time for both home and office users of these services to reassess the safety of their own sensitive data. [More...]

Panda Floats New Cloud-Based Security Tool

Wednesday - April 29, 2009

Panda Security on Wednesday released a cloud-based antivirus solution in beta. Panda Cloud Antivirus is based on a new protection model that utilizes a thin-client agent and server architecture to process and block malware. The product provides full protection from viruses, spyware and rootkits for free, according to the company, and does so with 50 percent less impact on PC performance. [More...]

Conficker Bites University of Utah PCs

Tuesday - April 14, 2009

University of Utah officials say a computer virus has infected more than 700 campus computers, including those at the school's three hospitals. University health sciences spokesperson Chris Nelson said the outbreak of the Conficker worm, which can slow computers and steal personal information, was first detected Thursday. [More...]

Twitter Birdie Chokes Down Worms

Monday - April 13, 2009

Two recent developments have all but guaranteed Twitter's successful crossover into the mainstream: First, the popular social networking site -- and its bluebird logo -- are included in a new Sprint national television ad campaign. Secondly, the network was the target of computer worm attacks apparently launched by a teenager over the Easter weekend. [More...]

Cyber-Spy vs. Cyber-Spy

Sunday - April 12, 2009

Ghost hackers infiltrating the computers of Tibetan exiles and the U.S. electric grid have pulled the curtain back on 21st-century espionage as nefarious as anything from the Cold War -- and far more difficult to stop. Nowadays, a hacker with a high-speed Internet connection, knowledge of computer security and some luck can pilfer information thought to be safely ensconced in a digital locker. [More...]

Conficker Twitch Leaves Security Sleuths With More Mysteries to Solve

Thursday - April 9, 2009

On Tuesday, computers infected by the Conficker worm woke up and downloaded a new variant. Named "Worm.Downad.E" by Trend Micro, "Conficker.AQ" by antivirus vendor Eset and "Trojan-Dropper.Win32.Kido.o" by antivirus vendor Kaspersky Labs, this new variant has left many security threat researchers bewildered. One conundrum: They don't know why it has a kill switch that apparently kicks in on May 3. [More...]

Scammers Swarm: Tax Time Is Open Season for Phishers

Wednesday - April 8, 2009

It's tax time again, and the online scammers are crawling out of the woodwork. Their goals are to intercept personal information about taxpayers nationwide, and in some ways, they may be benefiting from the IRS' push for people to electronically file their returns. Some scammers are "phishing" taxpayers by sending emails that claim to be from the IRS. [More...]

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