Security

Viruses get their name because, like human diseases, they can spread and multiply quickly. Now, Microsoft believes some of the tactics used to protect public health should be applied to the world of technology. Computer Virus Prevention is Key to ... Deterring Further Infections The idea comes from Scott Charney, a senior figure in Microsoft's security team. He's just published a paper named "Collective Defense: Applying Public Health Models to the Internet." In Charney's paper, he argues that while preventing individual machines from getting infected -- for example through security software -- ... (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)

Analysis of a major worm virus that specifically targets industrial control systems shows that three-fifths of the infected machines were in Iran. There's now speculation that the country's nuclear program was the target -- and that a national ... government might have been the culprit. It has been known since July that the Stuxnet virus targeted Iran. Over a three-day period that month, 58.85 per cent of all Stuxnet-infected machines were in the country. (Source: symantec.com ) Infrastructure Under Attack The virus is carefully crafted to breach SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) ... (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)

More than three dozen people allegedly linked to the Zeus Trojan virus have been charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney's office in southern New York. As we reported earlier this week, the Zeus Trojan has been ... promoted by scammers via fake LinkedIn email invitation requests . If you receive an email invitation from someone you don't know, delete it immediately. $3 Million Stolen from Bank Accounts The 37 said to have been involved in the cybercrime ring reportedly stole an estimated $3 million from bank accounts by using Zeus and other forms of malware. ... (view more)

Microsoft has this week issued a patch for a bug in the system used to develop active web pages. In a change from the company's normal procedures, the update had already been made available for manual downloading before testing was complete. The bug ... affected ASP.NET (Active Server Pages), a Microsoft system for creating dynamic rather than static web pages. That could cover a journey planner site that created custom results for the reader, as opposed to a page simply listing bus timetables. Passwords Exposed by Flaw The security flaw meant hackers could bypass encryption and see information ... (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)

One of the biggest tax errors in British history has led millions of people to pay the incorrect tax to the HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs). Even worse: phishers have burst onto the scene looking to cash in on the mass confusion. HMRC has ... since attempted to quash fears by promising that all those affected will have their issues rectified via standard mail and NOT by phone or email; however, considering the severity of the situation, many have taken to the Internet to conduct their own research. Once online, curious individuals become susceptible to opportunistic phishing scams. ... (view more)

For those who have the time, online quizzes can be a lot of fun. However, users should beware any quiz that asks for personal information in exchange for the results of a test. This means that in addition to your score, users could be placed on an ... emailing list to receive unwanted junk email messages, or worse. It is no wonder that the recent spike in popularity of IQ tests over instant messaging services has caught the attention of cybercriminals everywhere. Instead of infecting systems with viruses and malware though, these scammers are using an underhanded sales trick to get people to sign ... (view more)

Security researchers have discovered a new PDF (portable document format) exploit in Adobe Reader and Acrobat they think could allow a hacker to remotely take over a system. In fact, the threat is so serious at least one expert has called the ... vulnerability "scary." Adobe has acknowledged the flaw exists and could soon be exploited. In a statement, the company noted that the hole could be used to "cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system." (Source: adobe.com ) Hackers Trick Users Into Opening Infected PDF Mac, Unix and Windows users are ... (view more)