Security

NOTE: Be sure to grab the our supplemental reports 'Top 8 Freeware Antivirus Reviewed' and 'Top 10 PC Security Essentials' at the end of this article to learn how to better protect your PC online -- or click here to go to our Top 10 Reports now! If ... you're a fan of Jessica Biel, you may want to take care when searching for her name online. She's the celebrity whose name is most likely to produce spyware infected search results. The news was revealed by security firm McAfee, which has carried out a survey of the most dangerous search terms based on individuals for the past three years. Paris ... (view more)

Two days ago we reported the case of Albert Gonzalez, a recently-apprehended hacker who went on a record-breaking credit card heist that cracked as many as 130 million accounts. Now, we're learning more about the man being the scheme, a veritable ... hacking prodigy raised on the craft from an early age. Albert Gonzalez was indicted in New Jersey earlier this week for what most consider to be the biggest credit card hack since the turn of the 21st century. Known around the Internet as the "soupnazi," a take on the curmudgeonly but very popular Seinfeld character, Gonzalez has been hacking for a ... (view more)

The gang accused of one of the biggest online security heists ever have been indicted over the incident. The alleged ringleader, a government informant gone bad, has also been charged with other high-profile breaches. Albert Gonzalez was formally ... charged with breaking into the networks of payment processing firm Heartland Payment Systems, regional supermarket Hannaford Brothers, and three national retailers including 7-Eleven. His alleged loot from these attacks was 130 million credit and debit card numbers. Two other accomplices are listed in the indictment but not named, referred to only as ... (view more)

Another Microsoft Patch Tuesday has come to pass, and with it a fairly long list of fixes. A total of nine patches have been made available for five issues marked "critical". An incredible 19 problems have been addressed by the entire day's release. ... The nine patches address holes in Windows, MS Office software, ISA Server, Microsoft Visual Studio, the .Net Framework, BizTalk Server, and also Remote Desktop Client for Mac. MS Office Flaw Very Serious It's possible none of the fixes are more important than one Microsoft made public last month. Affecting Microsoft Office, the issue specifically ... (view more)

Two researchers have revealed tools that reportedly allow people to eavesdrop on video conference calls and intercept surveillance camera video. The only requirement for using the free tool is that you be in the same building as the caller or call ... receiver. UCSniff for Voice over IP (VOIP) Networks UCSniff is a free tool that available for Linux and Windows. According to Jason Ostrom, director of the Viper Lab at Sipera Systems, the tool offers a graphical user interface (GUI) that makes 'sniffing' video easy. It works by tricking the voice-over-IP (VOIP) network carrying the video into ... (view more)

The security technology used to protect information stored on the UK's prospective national ID card was reportedly hacked and the data cloned by a computer expert in just 12 minutes. The Daily Mail newspaper hired computer expert Adam Laurie to test ... the security that allegedly protects the information on the chip that is embedded in the card being issued to foreign nationals. Laurie was able to copy the data on the card in minutes with a Nokia mobile phone and a laptop computer. Data on Chip Easily Manipulated With the help of another technology expert, Laurie was able to create a cloned card ... (view more)

Java SE6 is set to receive what is being called "significant security patches." The need for repair came after the US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) warned that a number of vulnerabilities were in existence, allowing ... potential hackers to bypass authentication methods and execute arbitrary codes. One flaw exposes Java's audio system; if left unpatched, online deviants could be given access to a computer system without authorization. Another exploit provides root access to a vulnerable machine. Java Exploit Linked to ActiveX The most prominent flaw to be patched is ... (view more)

Though it's been out of the headlines for some time, the Conficker virus is alive and well. Researchers say it appears the virus has kept working despite little if any attention from its creators. According to Mikko Hypponen of F-Secure, one of the ... firms investigating the virus, there are still more than 5.5 million computers infected by Conficker, with Brazil, Vietnam and China particularly affected. That may be because computer owners there are less likely to be able to afford security software and more likely to be running pirated copies of Windows which are less likely to update Microsoft ... (view more)

Malware planted on web servers belonging to Network Solutions LLC, a hosting company and domain registrar, reportedly compromised more than a half a million credit card accounts belonging to customers of its e-commerce merchants. The company said it ... found unauthorized code on servers that support some of its e-commerce merchants' websites. It's reported that transaction data for about 4,343 of its merchant websites was stolen and redirected to outside servers. (Source: techtarget.com ) Half a Million Cardholders Affected Approximately 573,928 cardholders were affected by the breach that ... (view more)

In an effort to raise awareness, three professional hackers are attempting to prove that trusted web sites make you just as vulnerable to attack as known malicious web sites. At the recent Black Hat and Def Con security conventions, three presenters ... brought light to a new wave of Internet attacks that operate in a similar manner to that of a telephone tap in the shared communication between computers and trusted web sites. "Man-in-the-Middle" Attack This type of computer infiltration, known as "man-in-the-middle" attacks, occur when an online deviant steals the data that is intended to be ... (view more)