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From the monthly archives:

November 2009

Antivirus Uninstallers – Remove security software cleanly

by Shanmuga

Computer security software like anti-virus and firewall programs are notorious for leaving behind file and registry traces when uninstalled. I have found that using the in-built uninstaller via Start > Control Panel > Add\Remove Programs first and then followed by the official clean-up tool released by the respective vendor is quite effective in removing the

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Free Anonymous Web Proxies – What are they?

by Shanmuga

Basically an anonymous proxy hides your IP and protects other personally identifiable information being leaked on to the Web, thus protecting your online privacy. An anonymous web proxy lets you surf the web anonymously in your browser with out needing to install any software locally. You can use the service from any computer as they

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Microsofts Do and donts for Passwords

by Shanmuga

"The three basic things to remember when creating a strong password are the following: 1. Use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters. Also, remember that some dictionaries used in attacks have a "l33t" mode, which allows common letter/number-to-special character substitutions (like changing a-@, i-1 ,o-0 and s=$, for example, password = p@$w0rd). Therefore,

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Panda Burning Incense worm due for a comeback

by Shanmuga

"A computer worm that China warned Internet users against is an updated version of the Panda Burning Incense virus, which infected millions of PCs in the country three years ago, according to McAfee. The original Panda worm, also known as Fujacks, caused widespread damage at a time when public knowledge about online security was low,

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How to check Websites/Blogs/Web pages for Malware

by Shanmuga

The web today is not a benign place. There are many bots (automatic programs) that are constantly scouring the Web looking for a vulnerable computer. Once the bots find one, whether a home computer or a Web-server, they try to compromise the computer by surreptitiously installing its payload. In the case of a Web-server, it

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New Bios attack renders anti-virus useless

by Shanmuga

"A new form of attack that installs a rootkit directly onto a computer’s Bios system would render anti-virus software useless, researchers have warned…The researchers devised a 100-line Python script that could be flashed onto the Bios to install a rootkit. Because the Bios software activates before any other program on a computer when it starts

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8 Best Practices to Avoid Malware on Facebook and Twitter

by Shanmuga

"Thanks to the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, it’s a given that malicious hackers will devise ways to exploit the sites’ numerous users in order to infect their computers with malware. This unwanted software is designed to do a number of terrible things ranging from identity theft to turning computer into

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Dumb code could stop computer viruses in their tracks

by Shanmuga

"ON THE day a new computer virus hits the internet there is little that antivirus software can do to stop it until security firms get round to writing and distributing a patch that recognises and kills the virus. Now engineers Simon Wiseman and Richard Oak at the defence technology company Qinetiq’s security lab in Malvern,

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A Security Wish List for Microsoft Internet Explorer 9

by Shanmuga

"Just what is in store for Internet Explorer 9 from a security perspective remains unknown. But in light of Microsoft’s announcement, some security pros shared their thoughts with eWEEK about what they would like to see in the upcoming version of the Web browser.

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Microsoft denies backdoor in Windows 7

by Shanmuga

"Microsoft today denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency (NSA) official testified before Congress that the agency had worked on the operating system. "Microsoft has not and will not put ‘backdoors’ into Windows," a company spokeswoman said, reacting to a Computerworld

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10 Lessons Google Must Learn About OS Security

by Shanmuga

"Google is new to the operating system market, so it has to demonstrate that it understands how to build and maintain a secure Web OS. The history of Windows security has shown there are many avenues of attack against a desktop operating system. There are even more potential attack strategies for an online OS. But

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3 Basic Steps to Avoid Joining a Botnet

by Shanmuga

"Banging the drum for security awareness never gets old. As much as CSOs try to get folks to bone up on safe practices (both online and in the office), there are always going to be some who need reminding. Online, the biggest battle these days is against botnets: networks of infected computers which hackers can

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Top Internet Security Trends of 2009

by Shanmuga

"The Security Response team has compiled the top security trends of 2009. We pulled data from the Global Intelligence Network and the experiences of the thousands of analysts and security experts at Symantec to come up with the top trends for the year. While none of these trends will be a surprise to anyone even

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Firefox 3.6 locks out rogue add-ons

by Shanmuga

"Mozilla will add a new lockdown feature to Firefox 3.6 that will prevent developers from sneaking add-ons into the program, the company said. The new feature, which Mozilla dubbed "component directory lockdown," will bar access to Firefox’s "components" directory, where most of the browser’s own code is stored. The company has billed the move as

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Recognizing phishing e-mails

by Shanmuga

"If you have received an e-mail from the Internal Revenue Service or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, chances are it was a phishing attempt. If you received e-mail from your bank, PayPal, or Facebook urging you to immediately verify information or risk having your account suspended, it was undoubtedly phishing. Phishing attacks have spiked this

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Rogue antivirus: a growing problem

by Shanmuga

"Rogue antivirus programs pretend to detect malicious programs on a user’s computer and then offer to “treat” them for a fee. Needless to say, the money ends up in a cybercriminal’s pocket. The chances of being infected by this type of malware have increased dramatically over the last few years. The article examines how rogue

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Internet Antivirus Pro Analysis and Removal

by Shanmuga

Belonging to the family of Personal Antivirus, General Antivirus etc., this scareware first appeared on the scene in the later half of the year 2008 and is still going strong. It is identified by various antivirus engines as Adware.InternetAntivirusPro, RogueAntiSpyware.InternetAntivirus, Win32.InternetAntivirusPro.m, Win32.Banker and Win-Trojan/Fakealert. As a typical scareware it displays misleading alerts about non-existent infections

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Anti-virus Rescue CD/DVDs

by Shanmuga

An antimalware rescue cd or dvd is essentially a portable operating system along with a portable version of an anti-malware software application. They run completely from the CD/DVD media and allows access to your computer’s operating system and hard disks. This makes it possible to use them to scan the system for malware infections, recover

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10 Reasons Why Windows Security Is Better than Ever

by Shanmuga

"Windows isn’t very well known for providing the kind of security users really want. Windows has long been the favorite target of malicious hackers that have run amok in the operating system. Over the past few years, things have only gotten worse for Microsoft. Until Service Pack 2 was released for Windows XP, users were

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Facebook Tips: Staying Safe While Using Games and Apps

by Shanmuga

"If you’re one of the 63.7 million people playing the popular Farmville game on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed a change in how you earn points. FarmVille’s parent company, Zynga, agreed last week to remove deceiving mobile subscriptions and "scammy" offers that lure players to register for services in exchange for game currency, which helps players

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Flash flaw puts most sites, users at risk

by Shanmuga

"Hackers can exploit a flaw in Adobe’s Flash to compromise nearly every Web site that allows users to upload content, including Google’s Gmail, then launch silent attacks on visitors to those sites, security researchers said today. Adobe did not dispute the researchers’ claims, but said that Web designers and administrators have a responsibility to craft

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