Paul F. Roberts

Following a path blazed by anti-virus vendors in recent years, security software companies are offering dedicated anti-spyware appliances to customers desperate for relief from the pernicious monitoring programs. This week, security appliance vendor Blue Coat Systems Inc. will announce the Spyware Interceptor, a device that blocks spyware at the gateway. Blue Coat is one of […]

Even as the menace grows, security vendors are having increasing difficulty defining and identifying spyware, and their indecision is slowing efforts to assist frustrated IT managers tasked with keeping employees PCs clean. But help could be on the way. Leading anti-spyware vendors are working with the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology to develop guidelines […]

Anti-spyware vendor Sunbelt Software said it acquired Web-crawling technology that will enable its researchers to identify new spyware outbreaks more quickly. The company plans to announce Monday that it bought technology from Prospect Smarter Inc. of Tampa, Fla., for an undisclosed sum. The crawling technology, which Sunbelt calls SPECTRE, is like a “mini Google” for […]

Computer Associates International Inc. is changing its policy for handling appeals from suspected spyware vendors. CAs eTrust PestPatrol unit will no longer remove detection signatures for suspected spyware from its database of known spyware and adware programs while it considers appeals filed by the makers of those programs, said Tori Case, director of eTrust Security […]

Citing the increased risk posed by mobile workers and wireless networking technology, Microsoft Corp. and VeriSign Inc. said on Wednesday that they are teaming up to help organizations secure Wi-Fi networks. The two companies will collaborate to create a Wi-Fi security architecture based on Microsofts NAP (Network Access Protection) and VeriSigns Unified Authentication platforms. The […]

The name of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service could be added to the likes of ChoicePoint Inc., LexisNexis, and DSW Inc. if the tax collection agency doesnt improve its IT security operation, according to a report Monday from the U.S. Congresss Government Accountability Office. The GAO report, available here in PDF, found that the IRS […]

Microsoft on Monday released a software update to its Windows Rights Management Services technology that it claims will make it easier for companies to guard access to documents and e-mail on corporate networks. The Redmond, Wash., software companys RMS SP1 (Rights Management Services Service Pack 1), which was first announced at the RSA security conference […]