Brian Prince

An updated version of an old worm is targeting the same Microsoft vulnerability exploited by variants of Conficker. This time around, MS08-067-a patched flaw in the Windows Server service-is being targeted by a new variant of the Neeris worm. Neeris first appeared in 2005, but is now back on the scene with new functionality similar […]

Scammers are continuing their efforts to exploit public fears over Conficker, this time with promises of protection via a product made to look similar to Symantec’s Norton Antivirus 2009. Attackers have been blasting out e-mails that mention the names of Symantec executives talking about the worm and linking to a Website that uses the name […]

Hackers are launching attacks against an unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint, the company’s popular presentation program. Microsoft described the attacks in an advisory as “limited and targeted” in scope, but cautioned that a successful exploit could allow a hacker to execute arbitrary code with the rights of the logged-on user. “The vulnerability is caused […]

While U.S. lawmakers discuss new data security requirements, cyber-thieves are making a killing. Officials at ScanSafe reported that in 2008, 14 percent of all ScanSafe Web malware blocks were the result of encounters with data theft Trojans, more than twice the percentage of 2007. The highest levels occurred in October and November, when the credit […]

SQL injection consistently rates as one of the top vulnerabilities affecting Web applications. But for all the attention paid to it, one researcher feels the full impact of SQL injection has yet to be fully demonstrated in public. This month at Black Hat Europe, security researcher Bernardo Damele Assumpcao Guimaraes plans to rectify that by […]

Though the Conficker hype has died down, there are still people on the lookout for remediation and detection tools to make sure their networks stay safe. There is still cause to be on guard, and those who are infected and have not cleaned their PCs are still subject to the plans of the attackers, who […]

The Conficker worm’s supposed doomsday deadline has passed quietly. According to security vendors, so far there has been no dramatic activity. “McAfee Avert Labs has been closely monitoring Conficker-related threats and, we haven’t observed any significant activities on the domains that it is polling for thus far,” blogged McAfee researcher Shinsuke Honjo. “Even so, please […]

The doomsday some were predicting the Conficker worm to bring had not materialized as of the evening of April 1. But that hardly means Conficker is a bust. In short, the Conficker worm did what was expected-generate 50,000 domain names and begin contacting them. According to BKIS, the Bach Khoa Internetwork Security center, 1.1 million […]

Intel is partnering with database software vendor GroovyChannel to develop a new range of database appliance servers for enterprise cloud computing. The appliance servers will be based on Intel’s multicore processors and GroovyChannel’s patent-pending multicore database virtualization software. The collaboration is aimed specifically at dealing with the growing demands of Web applications and cloud computing […]

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released a DHS-developed tool aimed at squashing the Conficker worm. The announcement followed similar news from the Honeynet Project and the Conficker Cabal, which worked over the weekend to develop a tool to scan for the worm. The DHS tool was developed by the department’s United States Computer […]