Matt Hines

Microsoft Goes After the Security Channel

BOSTON—Microsoft announced its latest program aimed at recruiting channel partners to support its burgeoning security software business on July 12, an effort that company executives and outside experts say will be crucial in convincing customers to buy those products. Unveiled at the companys ongoing worldwide partner conference in Boston, the software giants SSA (Security Software […]

Xerox Adds Security Features to Its Devices

With copiers and multifunction devices increasingly connected to the network and capable of storing large amounts of data, Xerox is making security a bigger priority to keep its enterprise customers happy. Security technologies are becoming more tightly integrated with IT products of all kinds, as evidenced by storage giant EMCs recent acquisition of software maker […]

WebAttacker Unseats WMF as Most Popular Exploit

While the once highly-feared Windows Metafile software code exploit has finally lost some of its steam, another Russia-born threat, WebAttacker, became the most widely used malware attack format in June. According to the latest survey released by software maker Exploit Prevention Labs, WebAttacker-generated exploits took off in June, accounting for 32 percent of the attacks […]

Criminals Increasingly Blend IT Threats

Security researchers at software maker MessageLabs contend that malware writers, hackers and other cyber-criminals are combining multiple forms of IT threats in an attempt to amplify their efforts. In the companys latest IT security intelligence report, MessageLabs experts said that criminals are converging their attacks across multiple communications channels, such as e-mail, instant messaging networks […]

Research Points to Faster Threat Development

Security software maker McAfee contends that IT threats are growing in volume at a significantly faster pace than at any previous era through which it has tracked the propagation of malware code. McAfees Avert Labs reported that it recently passed what researchers consider to be a significant milestone, recording into its threat database the 200,000th […]

Microsoft WGA Attracts Copycat Worm and Second Lawsuit

Security researchers have identified a worm virus masked to appear as Microsofts Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy program, while end users have filed a second lawsuit against the software giants use of the actual program. Workers at anti-virus specialist Sophos were among the first to unearth the worm disguising itself as WGA. Dubbed by the firm […]

EMC Touts Encryption Gained Via RSA

Storage giant EMC claims that it is planning to hold onto all of RSA Securitys operations once its $2.1 billion deal for the software maker closes, at least for now. Some industry watchers have speculated that after polishing off the proposed merger, first announced on June 29, EMC would pick-and-choose among RSAs operations and potentially […]

SANS Spots New IE Vulnerabilities

Researchers have discovered two new vulnerabilities present in Microsofts dominant Internet Explorer browser, one of which has been rated by security experts as critical. Both vulnerabilities affect the Version 6.0 iterations of the browser. According to virus watchers at the SANS Institutes Internet Storm Center, the flaws were reported to its Full-Disclosure mailing list along […]

Lawsuit Labels Windows Genuine Advantage as Spyware

A California man has filed a class action lawsuit against Microsoft that charges the company with violating spyware laws with its Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy features. Filed in the U.S. District Court in Seattle by Los Angeles resident Brian Johnson on June 26, the suit claims that Microsoft failed to properly disclose all the details […]

EMC Acquires RSA in $2.1B Deal

EMC continues to collect smaller companies to pursue its strategy of becoming a fully fledged IT infrastructure giant. The corporation revealed June 29 that it is acquiring RSA Security for about $2.1 billion in cash, or $28 per share. EMC, of Hopkinton, Mass., is the worlds sixth-largest software company and owns the largest share — […]