Carlo Orlando

With the Windows family still allowing Microsoft to enjoy the lion's share of the OS market, rival companies are forever left to jockey for second place. While the goal for these companies is to one day surpass Windows in popularity, there has ... always been one benefit in playing "second fiddle" to Microsoft: hackers tend follow user demographics. This means that Windows is as much a popular choice for malware attacks as it is for consumers. Such is true for Apple, who listed only 34 known vulnerabilities within the Mac OS family back in 2009. While even one vulnerability should be cause for ... (view more)

After weeks of wreaking financial havoc on web users around the world, the dreaded Zeus Trojan is finally showing signs of weakness. Microsoft this week announced that their free malware cleaning tool has targeted the virus, going so far as to ... report the removal of Zeus from 275,000 Windows computers in less than 7 days. Zeus, also referred to as Zbot, is a devious collection of software (a " crimeware kit") that allows hackers to create customized malware that can be used to infect PCs. Zeus is most commonly programmed to target usernames, passwords and other information needed to ... (view more)

Just when security companies have developed new ways of dealing with the infamous Zeus Trojan , a variant characterized as the "Son of Zeus" has arisen. Worse yet, the variant has the trait of being virtually undetectable by conventional antivirus ... applications. About the Zeus Trojan and MS Windows The Zeus Trojan made headlines back in 2009 as a "highly customizable" tool for hackers. It's main mission is to sniff out financial information and break into online bank accounts . Security experts estimate that the Zeus Trojan has been used to infiltrate tens of thousands of PCs around ... (view more)

Computer Science researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created a computer system capable of performing tasks never thought possible. Dubbed "NELL" (short for Never-Ending Language Learning), the computer system has the ability to learn, ... read and express assumptions on a variety of topics. Researchers were provided funding from Google and DARPA agency (a research and development arm of the U.S. Department of Defense) to create a system capable of understanding the entirety of the human language. The Carnegie Mellon group programmed NELL to categorize the information it finds on the ... (view more)

When two million people download Microsoft's beta version of Internet Explorer 9 in only two days , many within the company started to believe the browser's declining market share was about to change. Now that the dust has settled, the results are ... beginning to look disappointing for the Redmond-based firm. Internet Explorer Browser Usage Declines Despite the fact that the Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) beta accounts for 0.25 per cent of the current global usage share during the second half of September, the overall share for Internet Explorer managed to slide by three-quarters of a percentage ... (view more)

Less than two months after retiring the Bing Cashback Rewards program on July 30th, 2010, Microsoft has reappeared on the radar with revamped offering. Dubbed "Bing Search Rewards", the scheme uses credits (instead of the previously-used cash ... rebates), as an incentive for those who conduct their online searches with their search engine, Microsoft Bing. Use Bing Search and Get Credits The idea of a rewards-based programs was always near and dear to the heart of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who often spoke on the idea of giving people a reason to use a particular search engine. The ... (view more)

Hackers have developed a new and clever scam that targets legitimate Apple iTunes subscribers, then drains their bank account. Fake Bill Traps Customers into Clicking Malware Link Victims of the scam receive fake "iTunes receipt" that appear ... completely authentic, with none of the spelling errors or image source code issues that have become synonymous with spam and malware messages. The only real problem with the would-be receipt is that the total for the bill was said to be completely outrageous. And that's part of the trap. Clicking "Report a Problem" Is a Big Mistake Researchers say that ... (view more)

Those who spend their time racking up points in online multi-player video games are now being targeted by hackers looking to cash in on their progress. Specially-crafted malware has been made in an effort to attack online gamers, steal their account ... information (and subsequent point accumulation) and sell their goods online. The most popular game currently targeted is World of Warcraft, and maker Blizzard has been working on ways to counter the problem. World of Warcraft attacks have continued to plague Blizzard since reports of difficulties experienced with the game's authenticator were ... (view more)

If you've recently received an abundance of email LinkedIn invitation requests from strangers, you're not alone. A new form of malicious spam attack is making its rounds, consisting of what appears to be an innocent "friend request" from the popular ... business-oriented social networking site LinkedIn. The request is anything but legitimate; in actually, these fake emails contain links to a website where the malicious ZeuS malware is downloaded directly to your PC without consent. The goal of ZeuS is simple: to compromise the personal and financial data of all of its victims. Instant ... (view more)

With many tech analysts predicting that cloud computing will be an important part of how companies conduct their future business, Google has intervened by clamping down on potential hackers and would-be identity thieves. Second Password Code Sent ... via SMS, Cell Phone Using simple passwords for an online account makes you prone to hackers, and this is especially true for corporate accounts. In response to the call for greater security, Google has implemented an additional (and optional) security measure which requires users enter a random six-digit code after entering their password. The random ... (view more)