Ryan Naraine

David LeBlanc, Security Architect in Microsofts Office division, is leaving Redmond to join enterprise anti-spyware specialist Webroot, the company announced on Wednesday. LeBlanc, who was charged with improving the security of some of the most widely deployed software products at Microsoft Corp., will become Chief Software Architect at Boulder, Colo.-based Webroot Software Inc. During his […]

Microsoft has applied an update to its Xbox360.com Web site to address a cross-site scripting vulnerability that could have been exploited by phishers to snag sensitive personal information from online gamers. The flaw was discovered by San Jose, Calif.-based IT security services firm Finjan Software Ltd. and fixed within 12 hours. Finjan did not publicly […]

A high-risk buffer overflow vulnerability in Computer Associates International Inc.s eTrust Vet anti-virus engine could put users at risk of PC takeover attacks, the company warned in an advisory. The Islandia, N.Y., software giant issued an alert for the flaw late Monday with a chilling warning that a successful attacker using a specially crafted Microsoft […]

America Online on Tuesday confirmed the inadvertent suspension of an undisclosed number of Trojan-infected AIM screen names. The company said its internal anti-SPIM (spam over IM) mechanism flagged the infected screen names for terms-of-service abuse and led to the account cancellations. The suspension is directly related to the virulent “Oscarbot” Trojan Horse that targets AOLs […]

A high-profile security research outfit on Tuesday warned that a newly discovered flaw in the Domain Name System protocol could be exploited remotely to crash vulnerable servers. The vulnerability, which carries a “moderate risk” rating, was flagged by the U.K.-based National Infrastructure Security Co-ordination Centre. In a public advisory, the NISCC said the flaw exists […]

Theres a major chink in Microsofts Windows XP anti-piracy armor, although Windows users are not at risk of security attacks. A security researcher in India has discovered an uncomplicated and easy-to-exploit weakness in Microsoft Corp.s WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage), an anti-piracy initiative that checks whether consumer and small-business customers are running legitimately licensed copies of […]

AOL on Friday blamed an unnamed third-party security vendor for the embarrassing release of its Netscape 8 Web browser with several publicly known security flaws. Just hours after the security-centric browser shipped, the company was forced to rush out a patched version to correct the gaffe. Netscape 8 is based on the Mozilla Foundations Firefox […]

Microsofts massive presence in the anti-virus space may be bad news for vendors leading the market, but for enterprise customers with tight budgets, it presents wonderful bargaining opportunities. With all-out price war looming, an influential IT research firm suggests that enterprises use Microsoft Corp.s anti-virus push to negotiate better pricing—and bundled services—from existing vendors. On […]

Like day follows night, a bogus “cumulative update” with a malicious attachment has followed Microsofts patch day. In what has become a monthly staple, virus writers are taking advantage of the heightened public interest around Microsofts patching cycle to trick users into executing a malicious attachment. The latest social engineering trick arrives via e-mail with […]

Microsoft Corp. is developing a network of Windows XP “honeymonkeys” to help detect rogue Web sites that exploit security holes to install malware on client machines. The project, code-named Strider HoneyMonkey Exploit Detection, is being created by the Redmond, Wash., companys Cybersecurity and Systems Management Research Group to help the software giant find the source […]

Microsoft is working on a souped-up version of the Windows OneCare desktop security bundle for enterprise customers, an ambitious bet that theres value in the software-as-a-service business. When Windows OneCare ships later this year, the immediate plan is to hawk it to nontechnical consumers, but according to a senior Microsoft executive, the long-term plan is […]

Looking to cash in on the growing buzz around PC-to-PC voice over IP services, Yahoo on Wednesday added voice calling capabilities to a new beta of its instant messaging client. The Yahoo Messenger makeover puts the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Web portal up against startups Skype Technologies S.A. and Teleo Inc., two companies that have found success […]