There has been much talk about the problem associated with the so-called Pandora’s box that is Microsoft’s UAC or User Account Control. This is one of the most unforgettable features of Vista where it first appeared as the ever present annoying pop-up window that asked for permission on almost each and every mouse click (exaggerated). The danger is that the said control feature seems to fail to revert to default security settings after a user has signed into the system as the systems administrator. After this event, use of all applications thereafter have been found to have default settings of the admin without reverting to previously set security settings that can be a wide open door for hackers to exploit. (Read the rest of this story.)

In the never ending battle to tame the many arising security holes that just seem to come as they are plugged, Mozilla has released several (eleven actually) patches to address security flaws, of which six are very critical ones that can open a computer to malware. Security is still the main problem with the internet and with evolving threats, developers have to keep pace with these threats as they arise. FireFox, being one of the most used web browsers has been alive and kicking in the patches arena that is necessary to keep their millions of users secure and safe from evolving threats. These security flaws are part of life on the internet as the myriad of developers who deploy software on the net are being targeted by malware. (Read the rest of this story.)

In a first, the FTC has taken a move to bolster their powers on the internet with them ordering the closure of a so-called determined malware ISP that they say has been determined and documented to host several illegal activities such as malware, viruses, pornographic sites and many others. The ISP of course denies all accusations and say they will be fighting the FTC on the matter, claiming they are innocent of all charges. The ISP, PriceWert LLC, has denied all the FTC’s accusations yet the FTC says it has a well documented and solid case. (Read the rest of this story.)

In a move that signifies that the US government may finally be taking cyber-security seriously, they have enlisted the help of the black hat/hacker aka. Dark Tangent, that has been responsible for some of the world’s most prolific viruses a few years back. Hiring a hacker to counter hackers may be the best way to go as there are not many options in the world of hackers where anybody can be anybody. These people are considered to be the scourge of the internet, responsible for some of the most damaging viruses, worms and other forms of attacks that exacts millions of dollars of economic damage each and every year. (Read the rest of this story.)

Phishing is one of the most prevalent scams nowadays, and you should take specific steps to guard yourself from this malicious practice.

Phishing, unlike malware or viruses, is something you can prevent yourself. Most phishing scams rely on the greed of the recipient by offering (when looking at it from the outside) ridiculously get rich quick promos and such.

The solution is simply to keep a check on yourself whenever you read messages like this. We understand that some unsolicited emails may be important (although mostly no), so you have to check, but if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is. Check websites to see if they are secure, as many Phishing sites pretend to be legit ones. Guard your personal information and only divulge it to trustworthy sites – it’s all for your protection.

As expected, the much awaited zero day for the Conficker worm (aka. Downadup) has sprung back to life when the date turned to April 1, the set date for the malicious activity of the said malware. Security centers have been waiting for the worm to come back to life and as expected it did, issuing re-configured processes and spreading malware to more computers worldwide. The widespread distribution of the worm has been worrying security experts who have been working hard to counter the damage the malicious worm causes, to some success for the world’s security software have been able to protect the rest of the world form the damage it would have caused.
(Read the rest of this story.)

Is it a good thing that people are clicking less and less onto potentially malicious sites? Heck it is yeah!

The investigation, conducted by McAfee(R) SiteAdvisor(TM), studied the five major U.S. search engines (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Ask) and found that the overall chance of clicking through to a risky site declined by 12.0%. Still, McAfee estimates that consumers click through to risky sites more than 268 million times each month.

“It’s good to see that clicking on search engine results has gotten modestly safer,” said Chris Dixon, director of strategy, McAfee SiteAdvisor. “But when almost one of 12 sponsored links still clicks through to a risky site, there remains significant room for continued improvement.”

With McAfee and the other Internet security software businesses, we hope it’ll be a better year in the fight against malicious viruses and their kind.

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Image source: www.filesharefreak.com

The word “proxy” means “to go between.” Proxy servers act as a filter between your computer and the Internet. The most popular use of this technology is to provide anonymous web surfing from any location in the world.

When using a web proxy server, you are technically not connecting to the Internet; instead, you are connecting to a remote computer or server which is connected to the Internet. Therefore, you are able to surf the Internet “by proxy.”

When surfing the net on a free web proxy server, your Internet browser history will reveal only that you have connected to the proxy site, not the actual web sites you have visited. Using a proxy server will also eliminate the problem of web sites depositing so-called “cookies” on your computer.

by Andrea Mella

F-Secure moved toward with attractive and conspicuous ground-breaking scheme wherever they are following spams, worms and malwares and incorporating it with them unswervingly and reliably on to Google Earth. This offers a beautiful and orderly proposal from where things are coming. As a matter of fact, they are pursuing first with IP which is rehabilitated to leeway and longitude and creates and generated it in Google Earth. In consequence, they have produced a world map which allocates an absolute examination and level of infection of worms, malwares according to continent and how the virus has changed over the period of time.