Brian Prince

Santa Thinks IT Security This Christmas

Spammers aren’t taking the holiday off, so end users shouldn’t either. For those interested in doing some holiday shopping, here is a short list of products to consider for that security-minded someone. The products span a number of technologies, from anti-virus to Web security. Norton Internet Security 2009 Symantec’s latest Web security product targets known […]

Thinking Consumer Security for the Holidays

Thinking Consumer Security for the Holidays Thinking Consumer Security for the Holidaysby Brian Prince No Title Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 No Title Norton Internet Security 2009 No Title Webroot Internet Security Essentials No Title Trend Micro Internet Security Pro No Title McAfee Internet Security 2009 No Title

Microsoft Vulnerability Faces New Round of Attacks

If you haven’t patched the Windows Server Service vulnerability fixed by Microsoft last month, it’s time to make it a priority. Though Microsoft issued a rare out-of-band patch for the issue in October, a number of exploits taking advantage of the vulnerability continue to be a problem. This past weekend, Microsoft began receiving customer reports […]

Spam Levels Creep Back Up 2 Weeks After McColo Shutdown

Spam levels appear to be rising again after a steep decline. According to researchers at MessageLabs, now part of Symantec, spam volumes have doubled since last week. Spam levels dropped off dramatically with the shutdown of Web hosting company McColo on Nov. 11. Though the firm briefly gained new life the weekend of Nov. 15, […]

Google Says Reports of Gmail Flaw Unfounded

Google officials have challenged the assertion that a Google Gmail security flaw was at the center of an issue described on the GeekCondition.com blog. A posting on GeekCondition.com Nov. 23 warned of a flaw allowing attackers to force Gmail users to create a malicious message filter without their knowledge. As a result, the post said, […]

Phishers Increase Abuse of Specific Top-Level Domains

Gangs of phishers are stepping up their abuse of specific top-level domains, according to a survey by the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The study, “Global Phishing Survey: Domain Name Use and Trends in 1H2008,” (PDF) which covers the first half of 2008, surveyed 47,324 unique phishing sites located on 26,678 unique domain names. The researchers found […]

Underground Economy for Stolen Data Thriving, Symantec Says

Big bucks are being made in the black market for stolen data, according to a report from Symantec. Researchers at Symantec turned the spotlight on the underground market for stolen data in a new year-long study that uncovered black market traders advertising stolen data at prices totaling more than $276 million. In its “Report on […]

Script Fragmentation Attack Could Allow Hackers to Dodge Anti-virus Detection

Security researcher Stephan Chenette opened up to eWEEK about a new Web attack vector that could potentially render desktop and gateway anti-virus products useless. Chenette, manager of security research at Websense, calls the attack script fragmentation. Similar to TCP fragmentation attacks, it involves breaking down Web exploits into smaller pieces and distributing them in a […]

Botnet Operators Likely to Change Tactics in Wake of McColo, Intercage ISP Shutdowns

Between the shutdown of Web hosting company McColo Nov. 11 and the death of ISP Intercage, aka Atrivo, in September, we may be entering a new phase of Internet security-one where every part of the Internet’s ecosystem takes a more proactive role in securing Web users. But attackers always adapt to the times, and security […]

Symantec Sees Rise in USB-Based Malware as Reports of U.S. Army Ban Surface

Researchers at Symantec are noting an uptick in USB-based malware as reports surface of a U.S. Army ban on USB devices and portable media. According to reports on Wired, the U.S. Army has banned the use of USB sticks, flash media cards, CDs and other removable storage due to security concerns and the proliferation of […]