Disinfecting a virus-laden PC

Monday, April 14th, 2008

The first thing is to isolate the computer (no more trading floppies until you're done) and then begin to disinfect it. One of my favorite tools is Knoppix. The great thing about this Linux distribution is that you don't have to know anything about Linux in order to be able to ...

New Crimeware-as-a-Service Market Thriving

Sunday, April 13th, 2008

First it was do-it-yourself malware and phishing toolkits, then it was specialized sites selling stolen FTP credentials and credit card accounts, and now it’s the next phase in cybercrime: crimeware as a service. Researchers at Finjan, MarkMonitor, and Trend Micro are among those seeing a new cybercrime business model, where ...

Botnets Running Rampant

Sunday, April 13th, 2008

Cybercriminals have created a global business with a supply chain every bit as organized and sophisticated as that of any legitimate business. The difference is that cybercrime takes advantage of unsuspecting consumers and insecure businesses to steal untold amounts of money. According to security experts and spam fighters speaking at a ...

Is Outsourcing a Security Risk?

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

The world has a new culprit to blame for the rising tide of software vulnerabilities -- code outsourcing. The trend to outsource the coding of applications is now a major contributor to making business software more vulnerable, a survey-cum-report has claimed. According to analyst group Quocirca, which surveyed 250 IT directors and ...

Vista Security Is Annoying by Design

Saturday, April 12th, 2008

If you're running Windows Vista, you're familiar with User Access Control (UAC). It's the security subsystem that pops up those irritating dialog boxes asking whether you really want to install software, or modify system files, or write to the Registry. UAC may be Vista's most-hated feature, but as it turns out, ...