Adobe Flash security woes: How to protect yourself
December 15, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Recommended Reads, Vulnerabilities
"Adobe’s Flash Player software is on 99 percent of Internet-connected desktops, offering up multimedia and video capabilities on a multitude of popular Web sites such as YouTube. But the Adobe Flash platform has been beset by a rash of security problems that give intruders potential access to computers running the software.Issues have included one recent vulnerability described as "frighteningly bad" by a security expert.
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Security researchers continue hunt for Conficker authors
December 15, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Botnets, Recommended Reads
"There are several ongoing investigations attempting to find the authors of the Conficker botnet, one of the fastest spreading worms in history, but those responsible for the worm have proven elusive. Security expert Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at F-Secure Corp., said he is aware of several ongoing investigations, but was asked specifically not to leak details about them. He said investigators have to be especially careful not to leak information because security researchers have determined that the cybercriminals behind Conficker are staying informed.
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Personal Security Analysis and Removal
December 4, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Featured, Rogue Security Software, spyware removal
On being redirected to a compromised website, this scareware displays a message ” Warning!!! “Your personal computer needs to install antivirus software! Personal Security can perform fast and free virus and malicious software scan of your computer”
The fake scan is simulated with the use of javascript and gif animated images irrespective of whether the OK or Cancel button is pressed.
Security Tool Analysis and Removal
December 2, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Featured, Rogue Security Software, spyware removal
Security Tool is one of the recent entrants to the family of rogue security software. Once installed the Security Tool scareware makes all the right noises expected from a fraudulent security software. A slew of warning messages in various sizes and colors about non-existent malware constantly bombard the desktop in order to scam the user to buy a subscription.
Ad-Aware maker showcases Rogue Gallery
December 1, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Rogue Security Software
Lavasoft Malware Labs, the maker of the popular Ad-aware anti-spyware product, have announced setting up of a gallery of rogue security software. A rogue security software belongs to a family of software products that call themselves as antivirus, antispyware or registry cleaners and often use deceptive or high pressure sales tactics and deliberate false positives to convince users into buying a license/subscription. They are often repackaged and renamed. They do not actually remove malware instead many of them add more malware of their own.
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The Root of the Botnet Epidemic
December 1, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Botnets, Recommended Reads
"Over the course of a few days in February 2000, a lone hacker was able to bring some of the Web’s larger sites to their knees, using just a few dozen machines and some relatively primitive software to cripple Yahoo, eBay, E*trade, Amazon, ZDnet and others for hours at a time. No one knew it at the time, but these attacks would come to be seen in later years as some of the earlier outbreaks of what has become a massive online pandemic.
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Antivir Analysis and Removal
December 1, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Featured, Rogue Security Software, spyware removal
As soon as the user tricked into visiting the compromised website, the browser is minimized and a dialogue box titled “Message from webpage” pops up with a message
“Warning!!! Your personal computer needs to install antivirus software! Antivir can perform fast and free virus and malicious software scan of your compute“.
Clicking on Ok or Cancel button will run the fake scan. At the end of the scan another message box with the following text is displayed.
“This computer is under attack They can seriously harm your private data or files, and should be healed immediately Return to Antivir and download it secure your PC”
Clicking on OK or Cancel button shows a fake Windows security alert window.
Antivirus Uninstallers – Remove security software cleanly
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 software cleanly.
How to check Websites/Blogs/Web pages for Malware
November 28, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Featured, Website Security
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 writes code so that the compromised Website is used for nefarious activities like Spam, Phishing and installing Malware on visitors computers. One of the popular way the hackers propagate their wares is by Drive-by-Downloads through malicious websites.
A Security Wish List for Microsoft Internet Explorer 9
November 23, 2009 by Shanmuga
Filed under Browser Security, Recommended Reads
"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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