Brian Prince

Millions of Facebook users may be getting too open with their personal information on the Web’s biggest social network. According to Consumer Reports, an estimated 13 million Facebook users in the United States either do not use or are not aware of the site’s privacy controls. In addition, 28 percent of the people the magazine […]

Microsoft is continuing to investigate a report of a vulnerability in Skype that allows someone to ascertain the IP addresses of logged-on users. News of the situation has circulated widely since information about it was posted last week on Pastebin. The Pastebin post included a script to help automate the exploitation of the issue on […]

A notorious malware platform targeting financial information has added a new trick to its portfolio€”a digital version of hijack and ransom. According to security firm Trusteer, the Citadel malware platform is delivering ransomware that hijacks victims’ computers. Ransomware works by restricting access to infected computer systems so that the attackers can extort payment in exchange […]

Microsoft has four security bulletins slated for February’s Patch Tuesday release. According to Microsoft’s advance notification, all four bulletins cover remote code execution vulnerabilities. Two of the bulletins are rated “critical,” and affect Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Exchange. The other two bulletins are rated “important” and affect SQL Server and Microsoft Office Visio. The […]

Microsoft is planning to release 11 security bulletins Oct. 14 on Patch Tuesday. Four of the bulletins are rated “critical” and cover vulnerabilities that can lead to remote code execution. The critical flaws lie in Active Directory, IE (Internet Explorer), Microsoft HIS (Host Integration Server) and Microsoft Office Excel. According to Microsoft’s advisory, the IE […]

Microsoft has plans for a small Patch Tuesday next week that will include just three security bulletins. Of the three, just one is rated “Critical,” while the other two are rated “Important.” The critical bulletin, as well as one of the bulletins classified as important, impacts Microsoft Windows. The other bulletin affects Microsoft Office. All […]

In a series of new releases, Palo Alto Networks has fixed its eyes on extending network security from remote workers to enterprise data centers. This week, the company upgraded its flagship PAN-OS product and announced the availability of new software called GlobalProtect, as well as the company’s new Palo Alto Networks PA-5000 Series appliances. Each […]

With the challenge of managing and analyzing big data growing ever-larger, Teradata is acquiring Aster Data Systems, a move analysts say is a good one. “Acquiring Aster Data won’t give Teradata additional market share to battle Oracle, IBM and Microsoft, as well as EMC and HP, but it does provide the company with additional technological […]

Ever wonder how your Twitter usage matches up with the general public? How about an attacker? According to Barracuda Networks, the differences between attackers and the average user can be pronounced, making behavioral analysis an important part of distinguishing between legitimate users and bad actors. In its report, which analyzes 26 million accounts during December […]

Mozilla and Google are getting a head start on next week’s Pwn2Own contest by patching flaws in their respective browsers. Mozilla rolled out patches Tuesday for 10 security flaws in Firefox, including eight rated “critical.” The other two vulnerabilities were rated “High” and “Moderate,” respectively. The move by Mozilla follows Google’s patching of 19 flaws […]

Gazzang wants to make cloud computing safe for enterprises-a goal that for the company begins with encrypting data. Its product, ezNcrypt, is used to encrypt MySQL database transactions and data. In its latest edition, ezNcrypt now includes public/private key encryption and integration with leading HSM (hardware security module) technologies, as well as OpenSSL engine support. […]

Google has removed numerous applications laced with malware from the Android app store, underscoring the threat of rogue applications infiltrating the company’s mobile marketplace. According to Lookout Mobile Security, more than 50 applications released under the developer names “Myournet,” Kingmall2010″ and “we20090202″ were infected with the DroidDream Trojan and removed by Google. A complete list […]