Drop in phishing signals new threats
by Alan HartenAccording to a report from IBM Corp issued on Wednesday, internet criminals are not using phishing emails as frequently any more in order to commit internet crimes and steal personal details. In fact, according to the report which includes all the scamming activity from the first part of the year, phishing only made up 0.1% of all of the spam which occurred during the beginning of 2009. During the first ...
July 29, 2009
Malware down but SPAM on the up
by Alan HartenSymantec MessageLabs Intelligence’s latest report looks bright at first glance as it appears malware writers are laying low on the internet. Spammers, on the other hand, have increased their efforts by venturing into multi-lingual messages that seem to work out disastrously, or well, depending on whose side you are on. Symantec reported that spam levels are higher than they have been in the last two years with over 90% of all ...
June 30, 2009
Jackson’s death fuels malware attacks
by Alan HartenIt seems that not even death is sacred on the internet. Security researchers' expectations came true when infections began spreading via email messages sent to users’ inboxes claiming to hold breaking news about Michael Jackson’s death from authoritative websites. Security companies Symantec, Trend Micro, and Sophos said that the emails are infected with viruses and other malware and deceitfully claim to be from major news corporations such as CNN and the ...
June 23, 2009
Security software sales continue rapid growth
by Alan HartenWhile the economy may be down, the software industry is still doing well according to market researcher Gartner, which recently reported that global software revenue in 2008 increased by 18.6% closing out with total revenue of $13.5 billion. Principle research analyst at Gartner, Ruggero Contu, stated that the security market in 2008 did not show any impacts of the recession, as security still tops the list of key concerns for IT ...
June 15, 2009
New security software for HP notebook
by Alan HartenHP has recently contracted Symantec to bundle its security software into all of the new HP notebook and desktop packages. In line with the new deal all pre-installed JP systems will contain Norton Online Backup and customers will have access to a thirty day free trial of the Norton 5GB backup service. HP has been selling desktop backup software for many years but has started to refocus its efforts on online backup ...
June 1, 2009
Two thirds of consumers rarely back up data
by David MastersTwo in five PC users in the UK have lost valuable files from their computers, a new survey revealed this week. A poll by security specialist Symantec found 38% of consumers have lost data from their PCs, yet two thirds (66%) rarely back up their data. Only one in five (22%) of those surveyed regularly backs up all the data on their PC; a higher percentage regularly checks the oil and water ...
February 27, 2009
Cybercriminals Make The Most Of The Recession
by Alan HartenThe safest country in the world as far as computer virus infections are concerned is Australia, according to the February Intelligence report from Symantec’s MessageLabs. Only 1 in 573.8 emails contained a virus in the land down under, compared to the UK’s 1 in 213.3, Canada’s 1 in 217.1, 1 in 203.6 in Germany, 1 in 424.5 for the USA, and 1 in 450.8 in Japan. India is the most virus prevalent ...
January 14, 2008
First Quicktime Vulnerability of 2008
by Dave NixonLuigi Auriemma, the security researcher responsible for identifying the year's first vulnerability for Apple's QuickTime media player, has published the proof-of-concept exploit code. Immediately, a second researcher interjected that it appears only the Windows version of QuickTime is in danger; It seems that the Mac OS X edition doesn't display the same dangerous mannerisms. Luigi, breaking the news of the defect last week, said that the latest version of QuickTime ...