Brian Prince

Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 today. For many businesses, this means one thing — if you are still using the nearly 6-year-old version of the operating system, it is time to upgrade. Not just because Microsoft says so, and not just because organizations still using Windows XP SP2 are not […]

Coverity is teaming with Armorize Technologies to help their customers better manage application security. With new integration between Armorize CodeSecure and Coverity’s static analysis tool – slated to be available later this year – is the vendors’ bid to unify the code analysis and remediation efforts of development and security teams. The coupling of the […]

GFI Software announced July 13 that it has acquired security vendor Sunbelt Software in a move to expand its security offerings. GFI offers security, backup and archiving products for small and midsize enterprises. In particular, the company said it wanted to get its hands on Sunbelt’s VIPRE anti-malware technology, which it said will allow GFI […]

Microsoft addressed five security vulnerabilities July 13 in a relatively small Patch Tuesday update. The most notable was a vulnerability in the Windows Help and Support Center feature included in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 that has come under attack. The bug was reported to Microsoft by Google engineer Tavis Ormandy June 5, and […]

In an age of data leaks, businesses can’t afford not to pay attention to social networking activity by employees. A new study from Trend Micro finds the number of people using sites like Facebook and others at work is increasing — and those doing it via laptop are more likely to share confidential information than […]

Oracle is prepping a massive update for July 13 to fix 59 new security vulnerabilities across its products. The fixes follow an update in April that covered 47 vulnerabilities across Oracle’s product lines. This time, 21 of the 59 impact the Solaris product suite, which the company acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems. Seven of […]

Secunia is calling out application vendors for poor updating practices and reminding users that third-party software vulnerabilities-and not bugs in the operating system-are the main targets of attackers. In the Secunia Half Year Report 2010, (PDF) the company says it found that the number of vulnerabilities affecting the average end-user PC reached 380, almost 90 […]

The National Security Agency revealed some information about the nature of its “Perfect Citizen” cyber-security program after a report about the agency’s plans surfaced in the media. While the agency is unwilling to confirm or deny some details of the Wall Street Journal article, the agency described Perfect Citizen as a “vulnerabilities-assessment and capabilities-development” effort, […]

Google has fired back at Consumer Watchdog’s criticism that the company accidentally snooped on the personal WiFi networks of several members of Congress. In May, Google admitted that it had accidentally used code, written for a WiFi project, which caused the Google Street View vehicles used to photograph streets and terrain to collect SSID (service […]

Activision Blizzard has backtracked on its plans to require posters on its “World of Warcraft” and “StarCraft” forums to use their real identities. In an announcement July 9, Blizzard Entertainment CEO Mike Morhaime said the reversal was driven by user feedback. Activision Blizzard is the parent company of Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard’s July 6 announcement about […]