Carlo Orlando

Kisses have the power to alleviate pain, mend a broken heart and show someone you care. Now, thanks to a security researcher in Asia, "Kisses" also have the ability to rid your smartphone of malicious spyware. Kisses, a free software application, ... can detect spyware and hidden programs on most BlackBerry devices and tell users what is going on inside their mobile phone. Cell Phone Spyware a Big Problem The presence of spyware has become problematic in recent months, primarily due to the fact that many malicious spyware programs can be purchased for as little as $50. For that nominal ... (view more)

When security officials decide to "go after" computer malware, most conduct their actions from a defensive standpoint. For most of us, finding a way to rid a computer of the malware suffices -- but for one computer researcher, however, the change ... from a defensive to an offensive mentality is what ended the two year chase of a sinister botnet once and for all. For two years, Atif Mushtaq had been keeping the notorious Mega-D bot malware from infecting computer networks. As of this past November, Mega-D had forced more than 250,000 PCs to do its bidding via botnet control. That's when Mushtaq ... (view more)

With the holiday season attracting droves of online shoppers to Internet retail sites, a planned malicious online attack was almost inevitable. Fortunately, the distributed denial-of-service (DDos) attack that was supposed to wreak havoc on ... Wal-Mart, Amazon and a host of other major chain websites was limited to a select geographic location and resulted in minimal damage. The afternoon prior to Christmas Eve saw a number of online retail sites suspend their services without notice, at the height of the Christmas rush. The good news, however, is that the attack lasted about an hour and the ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced their involvement in the war against illicit child photos by creating a new software tool that will give those looking to abolish such unethical material an upper hand. The software, which is somewhat similar to an antivirus ... program, will identify signatures in content to find images of those being abused. Microsoft researchers worked alongside Dartmouth College computer science professor Henry Farid to produce PhotoDNA. The software is able to accurately pinpoint certain characteristics in digital images that computers can scan online. Said Farid, "The basic idea is ... (view more)

Whether you are a university student using your laptop in residence or an employee surfing the Internet at the office, closely controlling your online history is crucial in keeping your identity safe and your privacy intact. According to Sree ... Kamireddy, Program Manager for Microsoft Bing, very few people are actually aware of the Bing Search History control options that are offered through the "decision engine". The switches offer a safer level of privacy control which is particularly useful if your PC or laptop falls into the wrong hands. The On / Off Switch Online search history ... (view more)

In an effort to improve security on their social networking platform, Facebook has rolled out a new feature that allows users to decide which friends are entitled to see which photographs, videos, and similar. Almost anyone who has a MySpace, ... Facebook or Twitter account can relate to having a few people on their friends list who are outside of their inner circle. As a token of understanding, Facebook is "tightening the reins" in regards to the amount of information certain friends are allowed to see. 350 Million People Affected In the coming days, all Facebook members will be required to ... (view more)

With email messages favored over hand-written letters and online news sources being read as opposed to the daily newspaper, those individuals working in pulp and paper mills have good reason to be fearful of the longevity of their employment. ... However, these people now have a glimmer of hope for the continued existence of their industry, thanks to modern research that looks to transform ordinary paper into a lightweight battery . At Stanford University in California, scientists announced the successful creation of the first line of "paper batteries" in existence. 10x The Power of Lithium-Ion ... (view more)

Many consumers think it's less likely you'll contract a malware infection if you buy your computer software at a store rather than online. For one U.S. woman, however, her latest store-bought accessory corrupted her computer minutes into the ... installation process. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Anna Giesman bought a $10 webcam for her daughter to chat with her friend who had just moved to Germany. But when she put the CD that came pre-packed along with the Markvision Magnetic Webcam into her computer, a menu instantly popped up offering drivers and a link to the Markvision website. Trusting ... (view more)

As " Black Friday " proved, online shopping is alive and well this holiday season. However, an increase in Internet shopping presents an opportunity for online deviants looking to cash in on as many victims as possible. As one security unit has ... proven, hundreds upon hundreds of web traps are known to be in existence. Officials at Scotland Yard's e-crime unit discovered a myriad of Asian hoax websites. However, the foreign fraudsters are even more deceptive in their actions this time around, because the infected sites are masquerading as British domain names. This is done to give false ... (view more)