-
Categories
- Browsers
- Business Software
- Communications
- Desktop Enhancements
- Developer Tools
- Digital Photo Software
- Downloads
- Drivers
- Educational Software
- Games
- Graphic Design Software
- Home Software
- Internet Software
- iTunes and iPod Software
- Linux
- MP3 Audio Software
- Networking Software
- Productivity Software
- Screensavers and Wallpaper
- Security Software
- Software News
- Utilities and Operating Systems
- Video Software
-
Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
-
Links
-
Meta
Tweet
25 Percent of New Worms in 2010 Are Designed to Spread Through USB Devices
48 percent of SMBs worldwide are infected every year; one third of these infections are caused by worms that spread on USB devices
PandaLabs has discovered that in 2010, 25 percent of new worms have been specifically designed to spread through USB storage devices connected to computers. These types of threats can copy themselves to any device capable of storing information such as cell phones, external hard drives, DVDs, flash memories and MP3/4 players.
The data from Panda Security’s Second International SMB Security Barometer suggests that this distribution technique is highly effective. With survey responses from more than 10,470 companies across 20 countries, it was revealed that approximately 48 percent of SMBs (with up to 1,000 computers) admit to having been infected by some type of malware over the last year. As further proof, 27 percent confirmed that the source of the infection was a USB device connected to a computer.
According to Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs, “At present, much of the malware in circulation has been designed to distribute through these devices. Not only does it copy itself to these gadgets, but it also runs automatically when a USB device is connected to a computer, infecting the system practically transparently to the user. This has been the case with many infections we have seen this year, such as the distribution of the Mariposa and Vodafone botnets.”
So far, these types of infections are still outnumbered by those that spread via email, but it is a growing trend. “There are now so many devices on the market that can be connected via USB to a computer: digital cameras, cell phones, MP3 or MP4 players,” adds Corrons. “This is clearly very convenient for users, but since all these devices have memory cards or internal memory, it is feasible that your cell phone could be carrying a virus without your knowledge.” Read more
IBM Delivers New Software to Help Clients Adopt Smarter Security and Compliance Management
The BigFix platform now displays all virtual and physical assets — PCs, laptops, servers, point-of-sale and virtualized devices — in a single place
IBM announced new software to deliver greater security and compliance to thousands of laptops, PCs and servers globally — automating some of the most time-intensive IT tasks.
The new software, delivered through IBM’s recently closed BigFix acquisition, provides built-in intelligence that identifies all of a company’s PCs, laptops, servers, point-of-sale and virtualized devices–wherever they are–then flags when devices are not in compliance with corporate IT standards. Its single dashboard makes the proper fixes across 500,000 machines in minutes. Organizations can see, change, enforce and report on security policies and system configurations of all endpoint devices in real time – including those not continuously connected to the corporate network.
Securing the enterprise is a top priority to clients. Worldwide security software revenue is forecast to surpass $16.5 billion in 2010, an 11.3 percent increase from 2009 revenue of $14.8 billion, according to Gartner, Inc.
The general availability of new BigFix Unified Management Software Platform includes more than 200 customer- and partner-specific enhancements, most notably: Read more
DEF CON Survey Reveals Vast Scale of Cloud Hacking
An in-depth survey carried out amongst 100 of the elite IT professionals attending this year’s DEF CON 2010 Hacker conference in Las Vegas recently has revealed that hackers view the cloud as having a silver lining for them.
And a gold, platinum and diamond one, it seems, as an overwhelming 96 percent of the respondents to the Fortify Software-sponsored poll said they believed the cloud would open up more hacking opportunities for them.
This is being driven, says Barmak Meftah, chief products officer with the software assurance specialist, by the belief from the hackers, that cloud vendors are not doing enough to address the security issues of their services.
“89 percent of respondents said they believed this was the case and, when you analyze this overwhelming response in the light of the fact that 45 percent of hackers said they had already tried to exploit vulnerabilities in the cloud, you begin to see the scale of the problem,” he said.
“While ‘only’ 12 percent said they hacked cloud systems for financial gain, that still means a sizeable headache for any IT manager planning to migrate their IT resources into the cloud,” he added.
According to Meftah, when you factor in the prediction from numerous analysts that at the start of 2010 20 percent of businesses would have their IT resources in the cloud within four years (http://bit.ly/7dvygF), you begin to appreciate the potential scale and complexity of the security issues involved. Read more
More Than 200 Websites Use ‘Justin Bieber’ as Bait to Distribute Malware, According to PandaLabs
Blackhat SEO techniques are being used by cyber-criminals to position malicious links among the top results in search engines
Other popular topics recently used include the last episode of ‘Lost’ and the release of ‘Iron Man 2′
PandaLabs, Panda Security’s antimalware laboratory, has detected more than 200 spoof Web addresses using the name ‘Justin Bieber’ as bait to lure users. When including the name of this pop singer and teen sensation in malicious links, cyber-criminals are distributing the fake antivirus MySecurityEngine. This technique has been used many times in the past, taking advantage of popular topics such as the series finale of ‘Lost’ or the release of the movie, ‘Iron Man 2′.
References to Justin Bieber in malicious links include examples such as: Read more
Panda Security’s Flagship Internet Security 2010 Takes Top Spot in AV-Test Report
Panda detected 100 percent of malware scanned in the AV-Test report in both private and ‘In the Wild’ virus lists
Panda Security announced that its flagship Panda Internet Security 2010 solution has been awarded the top spot by prestigious German testing laboratory AV-Test.org in its Q2 Product Review and Certification Report. Panda’s award-winning anti-virus solution also received AV-Test certification after surpassing all protection, cleaning and usability tests, as well as those designed to test the solutions’ ability to repair computers infected with malware.
Panda Internet Security 2010 achieved a high score of 5.5 out of 6 in the protection test, also achieving the same marks for cleaning and repairing computers infected with malware. The solution scored 5 out of 6 for usability.
In testing protection against malware infections, the most noteworthy results were the solution detecting 100 percent of samples in the malware batch used by AV-Test, as well as those from its ‘In the Wild’ list. In the detection of zero-day malware attacks on the Internet, including Web and e-mail threats, Panda Security scored 82, 89 and 74 percent respectively during the three test months. In dynamic detection testing, Panda detected 81 percent of the samples used, significantly higher than the industry average of 63 percent. These figures, higher than competitive product scores, can be attributed to Panda’s Collective Intelligence technology, which immediately detects both known and unknown malware samples and sends them to the cloud for classification, remediation and elimination.
Panda Internet Security 2010 also scored 100 percent in the detection and elimination of rootkits and hidden malware. In the section on cleaning and repairing computers infected with malware, Panda Security achieved 95 percent in the elimination of active malware components (according to the WildList), once again above the industry average. In the usability section, the impact ratio of the anti-virus on computer performance was 101 seconds, less than half the industry average of 251 seconds.
“These results illustrate the incredible capability of Panda’s Collective Intelligence detection system,” said Pedro Bustamante, senior research advisor at Panda Security. “More significantly, this detection power has no impact on users’ computers, since the scanning and the classification of malware takes place entirely in the cloud.” Read more