Security

A 26-year-old who made cash on the side by selling cable modems he'd hacked now faces a potential prison sentence longer than those handed down to murderers. New Bedford, Massachusetts' Matthew Delorey faces up to forty years behind bars. Delorey ... began his campaign by posting ads for the modified cable modems on Craigslist, followed by an even more tempting series of YouTube videos featuring names like "How to Get Free Internet Free Cable Internet Comcast or any Cable ISP--100% works," and "How to bypass Comcast registration page with premod cable modem SB5100, SB 5101." This wasn't exactly ... (view more)

Security firm Sophos tells PC World that two security measures introduced in Windows Vista and expanded in Windows 7 have had a marked effect on levels of infection on computers. Nevertheless, several online security professionals have reminded ... users of Windows 7 that while the new operating system (OS) offers enhanced security over its predecessors, it's not invulnerable. They note that human vulnerabilities will always leave people at risk to hackers. Two New Security Features Mark Improvements Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) partially randomizes the order in which data is stored ... (view more)

Security researchers are warning the Twittering world that their credentials may be vulnerable to hackers. The most disturbing news, however, is that the problem, which exploits Adobe System's Flash programming language, was first discovered almost ... four years ago. Mike Bailey, a senior security analyst with Foreground Security in Orlando, Florida has informed Twitter of the flaw. However, all warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Most website operators have downplayed the severity of the situation, even though it could compromise many users. No Restorative Actions to Date Frustrating ... (view more)

Microsoft has admitted it knew about the latest Internet Explorer zero-day flaw more than three months ago, news that's likely to prompt criticism about the way the firm prioritizes security issues. The bug, which involves an invalid pointer ... reference, was first reported to Microsoft by Israeli security expert Eyal Gruner on August 26. He says that because it was so easy to discover the vulnerability, he expected less scrupulous people would also find it and develop ways to exploit it. MS Confirmed Flaw in September Microsoft says it received this warning and confirmed it in early September. ... (view more)

According to a recent report, most users still haven't answered the call by security experts to implement more robust passwords. In fact, in a list of the most easy to hack passwords, simply typing '123456' took a truly forgettable top prize. ... Security firm Imperva this week released its list of the passwords most likely to be hacked based on 32 million instances of successful hacking. Imperva named their report "Consumer Password Worst Practices," and some of the entries near the top are truly simple. Worst Password Practices The top three passwords all included the simple streaming of ... (view more)

A change made to Windows in 1993 may have opened up a security hole that, surprisingly, remains unpatched today. The issue is unlikely to affect home users but could pose a risk to corporate networks. The problem stems from Windows NT version 3.1, ... which was one of the first 32-bit operating systems. As with the recent development of 64-bit operating systems, this meant some compatibility problems with older software. At the time, Microsoft added a feature known as a Virtual DOS (Disk Operating System) machine to run 16-bit applications on the system. The feature has been a fixture ever since ... (view more)

Microsoft announced yesterday that it was working on a special emergency patch to prevent the spread of an Internet Explorer zero-day flaw in its Internet Explorer browser that allowed hackers to breach the defenses of Google, Adobe, and about 32 ... other companies. The attack is said to be "the most sophisticated cyber attack... seen in years," according to tech security firm McAfee . Now, Microsoft is offering recommendations for home and business users trying to keep themselves protected until the Internet Explorer patch is widely available. Older Versions of IE, Windows Most ... (view more)

Widely-known security firm McAfee has called last week's breaching of several major tech companies (including Google and Adobe) "the most sophisticated cyber attack... seen in years," even suggesting the operation could usher in a new age of cyber ... warfare. Attack a "Watershed Event," Says McAfee Discussing the attack on 34 tech companies in China last week, McAfee Chief Technology Officer George Kurtz was noted as saying, "I believe this is the largest and most sophisticated cyber attack we have seen in years targeted at specific corporations," adding, "What really makes this a ... (view more)

An Internet Explorer (IE) vulnerability was used by hackers to get past the defenses of Adobe, Google, and about 32 other companies, says security firm McAfee. Until now, the IE flaw had been unknown to security researchers, while the attack had ... initially been blamed on an Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) vulnerability. According to McAfee, hackers used a variety of tactics, including spear-phishing (email spoofing with a specific target in mind), to unleash an incredibly effective "cocktail of zero-day vulnerabilities," that exploited flaws in company systems and left backdoor loopholes ... (view more)

Red Condor, a well-known email filtering company, is warning computer users everywhere about an email phishing campaign that spreads false Microsoft Outlook alerts. Those responsible for the malicious campaign are using the alerts to implant banking ... Trojans on PCs, leaving the door wide open for fraudulent money transfers. Over 1 Million Emails Intercepted by Noon One of the biggest concerns is the alarming rate at which these alerts are being sent out; in fact, Red Condor had blocked over a million kinds of these messages by noon just this past Friday. Researchers are almost certain that the ... (view more)