norton internet security product key Information and Resources

Cisco buys e-mail security company
Cisco purchases IronPort for 0 million in cash and stock to bolster its security offering.

The good, the bad of bug campaigns
Researchers have launched the third monthlong parade of flaws, this time in Apple software. But do the efforts do any good?

Acrobat flaw could spawn Web attacks
Vulnerability in ubiquitous Acrobat Reader software could be a boon for cybercrooks and spark a rise in Web-based attacks, experts warn.

Apple guru combats month of bugs
Open-source developer is attempting to ensure that a patch exists for every flaw found by the Month of Apple Bugs project.

E-mail scammers face European crackdown
Regulation requiring cooperation among EU prosecutors will leave e-mail predators "nowhere to hide," says U.K. government.

From yap to growl, Israeli device dogs intruders
Technology used at prisons, farms and more analyzes canines' barks to see if animals are responding to a threat or just routinely woofing.

Google plugs Gmail data leak flaw
Security hole that affected several Google services exposed the address books of Gmail users, a potential treasure trove for spammers.

QuickTime zero-day bug threatens Macs, PCs
Publication of yet-to-be-patched QuickTime vulnerability kicks off month in which researchers will publish an Apple software bug each day.

This worm wishes you a Happy New Year
Security experts warn of a Trojan horse disguised as celebratory e-mail that could turn a PC into a spamming zombie.

Companies probe possible high-def DVD hack
Hacker posts details of how he unlocked the encryption that prevents high-definition discs from illegal copying.

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.