Brian Prince

A multipronged attack targeting users of Internet Explorer is poisoning Google search results and redirecting users to compromised pages. According to ScanSafe, the stealthy malware is hitting computers via drive-by attacks leveraging PDF and Adobe Flash exploits. Once installed, the malware attempts to swipe FTP credentials from the computer and creates a backdoor on the […]

Following the security field, you often see big malware names come and go. Storm crashes onto the scene and grabs headlines. Then it’s on to botnets like Srizbi, or Cutwail or Conficker. But while those names rang — and in some cases continue to ring — bells, Brian Rexroad knows that it’s the smaller botnets […]

That hackers are using sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace to launch attacks is no revelation. New statistics, however, show just how effective malware on social networking sites can be. In its “Malware Evolution 2008” report, published in February 2009, Kaspersky Lab revealed that malicious code distributed via social networking sites has a success […]

Adobe Systems released patches for zero-day flaws in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat on May 12. The first of the Adobe bugs, a problem with the GetAnnots Doc method in the JavaScript API, affects Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 9.1 and earlier across all platforms. To exploit this vulnerability, attackers need a PDF file that […]

Microsoft pushed out a patch May 12 to give Office PowerPoint users a shield against ongoing attacks targeting a zero-day vulnerability. The fix is part of the month’s sole Patch Tuesday security bulletin-a massive patch for a total of 14 security issues in PowerPoint. The only flaw known to be under attack is a memory […]

Attackers pushing pirated, malware-laced copies of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 7 operating system have been actively trying to build a botnet. According to researchers at Damballa, attackers hid a Trojan inside of pirated copies of the operating system and began circulating them on BitTorrent sites. Damballa reported that it shut down the botnet’s command and control […]

Conficker, Coreflood and Other Malware Madness on Your PC The MBR/Sinowal/Mebroot/Torpig rootkit—Stealthiest Rootkit in the Wild? A recent update from the hackers enabled it to hook itself even deeper within the Windows operating system to avoid detection. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara, seized control of the Torpig botnet for 10 days earlier […]

Microsoft plans to release its first community technology preview for “Project Madison” in early July. Project Madison is the code name for Microsoft’s new data warehousing technology for SQL Server. Madison builds off technology Microsoft acquired when it purchased DATAllegro in 2008. The goal of Madison is to use MPP (massively parallel processing) to deliver […]

Sybase has launched an updated version of Replication Server with a focus on enhancing performance and manageability. According to Sybase, those two areas were the driving force behind Replication Server 15.2. In addition, the company has added heterogeneous database replication capabilities into the mix, all with the goal of helping organizations better deal with exploding […]

When reports that data on a U.S. missile system was found on a computer auctioned on eBay, enterprises were provided another example of what happens when they fail to securely manage data at the end of its life. In this case, the consequences were nil, as the computer in question was purchased as part of […]

Hackers broke into databases at the University of California, Berkeley, and got access to student and alumni records, the university admitted today. According to school officials, the data theft began Oct. 9 and went undetected until early April, when campus administrators performing routine maintenance identified messages left on a server by the hackers. The databases […]

While law enforcement officials investigate reports of a data breach, the Virginia Department of Health Professions are urging anyone who could be affected to watch vigilantly for signs of identity theft for the next 12 to 24 months. On April 30, the Website of the DHP’s Prescription Monitoring Program was defaced with a message stating […]