internet security review Information and Resources

Microsoft says Xbox security wasn't breached
Gamers who reported fraud with their Xbox Live account were likely duped into giving up their information, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft probes possible Xbox Live fraud
Gamers report having their Xbox Live accounts hijacked and their credit cards used to buy virtual currency on the gaming service.

Tool turns unsuspecting surfers into hacking help
With Jikto, JavaScript on a Web site can turn PCs into a bug-hunting tool, thus doing a hacker's dirty work.

Report: U.S. most prolific source of online attacks
Computer networks in U.S. generate highest percentage of phishing, other Internet attacks, according to security firm.

A new day for business security
Today's systems increasingly blend the digital and the physical--and the convergence is spawning industry alliances that might have seemed unusual in the past.

Microsoft probes possible IE 7 phishing hole
Vulnerability in Internet Explorer 7 error message could help cybercrooks obscure phishing scams.

Google adding search privacy protections
Privacy experts say the plan is a step in the right direction, but more could be done.

Trend Micro acquires HijackThis antispyware tool
Updated version of HijackThis and a new Trend Micro safe-browsing tool are due next week.

OpenBSD hit by 'critical' IPv6 flaw
A security hole in the way OpenBSD handles IPv6 data packets exposes systems running the open-source OS to serious attack.

Apple megapatch plugs 45 security holes
Update for Mac OS X includes a number of fixes for zero-day vulnerabilities released as part of two high-profile bug-hunting campaigns.

Zango, the FTC, MySpace and You Tube
This past Friday, the FTC announced a million dollar settlement with Zango, formerly named 180solutions, in a lawsuit charging Zango with unfair and deceptive business practices, among other things. See ZDNet story here with more details. FTC announcement here.  Case documents can be downloaded here.As usual Zango refuses to take responsibility for anything, again blaming [...]

Halloween sites tricking users with malware
Update October 27:  This morning I contacted the owner of the listed sites.  The sites were indeed hacked, and the owner has since removed the malicious code from the web pages. This is a nasty trick!  There are a few Halloween sites being used to distribute malware, right at the time when unsuspecting web users might be searching [...]

Scary malware tricks part 1
In keeping with the Halloween season, I'm starting a series on scary malware tricks, similar to last year's series on spyware tricks. Perhaps my personal focus has changed, but it seems to me spyware tricks are becoming far more devious and destructive.  Last year I was testing mostly adware, whereas this year I'm testing more [...]

Edelman on ‘Deceptive Door Openers’ and Ask toolbars
In a new article posted this morning, Ben Edelman continues his investigation of high-profile companies clogging users' computers with junk.  Today's target: InterActiveCorp's Ask.com, known for its widespread "smiley" toolbars.Last year I blogged about Ask's various toolbars and the trinkets Ask uses to get users to install them.  But Ben thinks there's a bigger problem here.  [...]

Is Zango stealing affiliate commissions from adult webmasters?
It seems that Zango, formerly known as 180solutions, the company we all love to hate, has royally ticked off a bunch of adult webmasters. Paperghost, aka Chris Boyd, has the story, complete with links to forums where the adult webmasters discuss Zango allegedly stealing affiliate commissions.  True?  I don't know, but considering some of Zango/180solutions' past questionable business practices, [...]

So what about user education on security?
CNET's Joris Evers writes about one security expert who says education users on computer security in the enterprise setting is "pointless".  Doctoral candidate Stefan Gorling, speaking at the Virus Bulletin Conference, said:"I don't believe user education will solve problems with security because security will always be a secondary goal for users," Gorling said. "In order [...]

Malware being spammed as PDF from retail stores
Reports surfaced today of spam purporting to be from Dell, Walmart, Circuit City or Sony confirming an order for a Sony Vaio computer with a PDF attachment, but the attachment is, in fact, a very nasty piece of malware named Haxdoor. Text of email:Subject: Order ID : 37679041Dear Customer,Thank you for ordering from our internet shop. If [...]

MVP awards, Messenger Plus! and adware — a good combination?
A controversy has been raging in certain circles the last few days over a MVP award, which has now been rescinded, to an adware pusher known as Patchou, Cyril Paciullo, the author of Messenger Plus!. There's a lot of nonsense going around and I'd like to clear some of that up.

Spyware pushers cash in big on zero day exploit
Nearly 50 malware threats being installed though the VML zero day exploit, including familiar names like Virtumonde, BookedSpace, webHancer, SurfSideKick, Qoologic (also known as Qoolaid), Zenotecnico, TagAsaurus, with some trojan downloaders and a backdoor thrown in the mix. Many of these use affiliate programs where the affiliate gets paid per install, so somewhere affiliates of these adware/spyware companies are making a killing off this zero day exploit, trashing computers with their crapware.