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Anti Virus

Debate: Free anti-virus software is as effective in protecting users as a paid solution

December 01, 2010

Free anti-virus software is as effective in protecting users as a paid solution.

Microsoft tool unable to detect new versions of Zeus

Angela Moscaritolo November 03, 2010

Though a Microsoft tool detects and prevents Zeus infections, its success rate may be limited, according to researchers at a security firm.

Trojan found disguised as Microsoft anti-virus product

Angela Moscaritolo October 22, 2010

A trojan masquerading as the anti-virus product Microsoft Security Essentials attempts to trick users into installing a rogue security program, according to researchers at anti-virus firm F-Secure.

Is the advanced persistent threat something new?

Angela Moscaritolo October 20, 2010

Jerry Dixon, the former head of US-CERT, will examine the truth behind one of 2010's biggest IT security buzzwords when he speaks at next month's SC World Congress.

The shadowy world of the advanced persistent threat and botnets

Greg Hoglund, founder and CEO, HBGary July 15, 2010

Botnets have evolved into full-fledged criminal enterprises, and those organizations that take the threat lightly will be the ones paying in the end.

Malware disguised as IME file appears

Dan Kaplan July 06, 2010

Attackers are spreading a trojan by leveraging a Windows application that lets users type complex characters and symbols, such as a foreign language letters. The trojan cloaks itself as a Windows Input Method Editor (IME) file, researchers at Websense said in a Monday blog post. Once installed, it disables anti-virus (AV) processes that may be running on the target machine, in addition to deleting any AV executable files that have been installed. — DK

Application whitelisting: Interview with Paul Paget, president and CEO of Savant Protection

Angela Moscaritolo June 16, 2010

Paul Paget, president and CEO of Savant Protection, discusses how whitelisting is evolving as a viable alternative to traditional anti-virus defenses. In an interview with SC Magazine's Angela Moscaritolo, Paget also responds to the criticisms he often hears about whitelisting.

Why malware wins the host race

Gunter Ollmann, vice president of research, Damballa June 15, 2010

A noted security researcher explains how sophisticated malware is created to elevate privileges on behalf of an attacker so security controls, such as anti-virus, can be disabled.

Avenging host: The impact of virtualization on network security

Jason Leung, senior product line manager for SMB security, Netgear May 10, 2010

Virtualization is quickly transforming the IT landscape, but some organizations may have overlooked the security ramifications it presents.

Sophos sells majority stake to private equity group

Dan Kaplan May 04, 2010

A private equity firm on Tuesday purchased a majority interest of Sophos, which recently dropped plans to IPO, for $830 million.

McAfee error wreaks havoc on corporate systems

Angela Moscaritolo April 22, 2010

A flawed McAfee update caused computers around the world to become stuck in an endless cycle of reboots.

Flawed McAfee update cripples corporate PCs

Angela Moscaritolo April 21, 2010

A flawed update for McAfee VirusScan Enterprise took down an unknown number of corporate systems running Windows XP Service Pack 3 on Wednesday. According to reports, the faulty update caused affected computers to display an error message or a blue screen and to repeatedly reboot. "McAfee is aware that a number of corporate customers may have incurred a false positive error due to incorrect malware alerts," McAfee said in a statement. "The faulty update was quickly removed from all McAfee download servers, preventing any further impact on customers." The security giant apologized for the blunder and issued a fix. It is unknown how many users were affected by the glitch. — AM

Venting our security anger

Lysa Myers, director of research, West Coast Labs April 19, 2010

In this month's "Five Stages of Employment" column, the author illustrates the things that get her blood boiling when it comes to information security.

Rootkit to blame for Windows fix resulting in blue screen

Dan Kaplan February 18, 2010

Microsoft has concluded that PCs displaying the "blue screen of death" when trying to install a February patch contain a rootkit.

Microsoft discloses zero-day IE flaw used in China attacks

Dan Kaplan January 14, 2010

The organized and well-resourced cybercriminals who compromised systems at Google, Adobe and more than 30 other large companies used a previously unknown, zero-day Internet Explorer exploit as part of their arsenal to install data-stealing malware on target machines, researchers at McAfee revealed Thursday.

FBI: Money mule scams top $100 million

Angela Moscaritolo November 04, 2009

The FBI is dealing with new cases every week of sophisticated banking trojans being installed on PCs to swindle companies out of large amounts of money, the agency said this week.

Zeus phishing wave targets Outlook Web Access users

Dan Kaplan October 15, 2009

The masterminds behind the Zeus trojan are continuing efforts to target corporate users with the hope of gaining access to business bank accounts.

WCL partners with OPSWAT

Chuck Miller October 02, 2009

West Coast Labs (WCL), an independent test facility for information security products and services, has partnered with OPSWAT, a provider of development tools that power software application manageability. The alliance will allow for the incorporation of data from WCL's Checkmark Certification program into the OPSWAT OESIS Framework, a development toolkit for managing endpoint security applications. — CAM

Security Essentials ready

Chuck Miller September 29, 2009

The final version of Microsoft Security Essentials is now available for download. According to the company, the software provides real-time protection for PCs against viruses, spyware and other malicious software. The free consumer solution is backed by research from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC), enabling it to quickly respond to new threats and placing it in competition alongside offerings from Symantec and McAfee in the anti-virus market. — CAM

AV makers fault Apple on Snow Leopard malware scanner

Dan Kaplan August 31, 2009

The new anti-virus feature in Snow Leopard could entice cybercriminals to create more Mac malware, say security firms.

Wildfire malware

Angela Moscaritolo August 31, 2009

Cybercriminals are targeting users interested in learning information about the ongoing wildfires raging in California's Angeles National Forest, Panda Security has warned. In one trial. searches for "angeles crest fire" yielded a malicious link as the third most relevant search result. If clicked, a fake system scan is displayed, aiming to trick users into thinking their computer is infected and offering to download a rogue anti-virus product. — AM

Snow Leopard to contain anti-malware component

Dan Kaplan August 26, 2009

Apple appears to be getting at least somewhat serious about security, with plans to include an anti-virus mechanism in the next version of its Mac OS X.