AVG and Netlog Partner to Help More Than 24 Million Social Networking Users Stay Safe

February 1, 2011 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

AVG Technologies announced that it has teamed up with Netlog to launch a co-branded Security Center within the popular European social network now available at http://www.netlog.com/go/helpdesk/security/.

The Security Center powered by AVG, will inform and educate users about Internet security, provide tips and help users protect themselves from malware, spyware and other attacks by cybercriminals while they surf online. Additionally, all links within Netlog will be automatically scanned by AVG LinkScanner, warning users to refrain from opening a link when a threat is detected.

With more than 72 million members and over 150 million visitors per month, Netlog is one of the fastest-growing and most popular social networking sites amongst European youth between the ages of 18 and 25. The Security Center will be initially rolled out to 24 million Netlog users in the top six countries of the Netlog user base, which are Belgium, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Romania and Turkey. As part of the educational initiative, Netlog users will also be able to download AVG Free and Paid products at a discounted price while receiving bonus Netlog credits at http://en.netlog.com/go/downloads/. Users can also visit a dedicated AVG page to learn more about the company and apply exclusive AVG monster ‘brand skins’ to their own page at http://www.netlog.com/internetsecurity/.

“AVG is delighted to work with Netlog on this strategic initiative. Social media has become the heartbeat of our society and as such, it is particularly vulnerable to the criminal elements,” said Rocco Donnino, senior vice president of Global Strategic Alliances, AVG Technologies. “Netlog is taking incredible measures to create a safe and secure environment for their members, thus it’s imperative that Netlog users have the most up-to-date security software and information available so that they stay protected while surfing online.”

“A significant amount of Netlog users are aged 13 to 20. This age group tends to be relatively more vulnerable to online threats, which is why we attach a great deal of importance to online security. Other than guaranteeing the safest possible experience on our own site, we can now offer our users a way to protect themselves wherever they go on the web, thanks to our partnership with AVG,” said Lorenz Bogaert, CEO of Massive Media.

The agreement is part of the AVG’s Global Strategic Alliances (GSA) group and “Trust Alliance” program focused on development, licensing initiatives and strategic partnerships in security, social media and the online community.

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Panda Cloud Antivirus Version 1.3

November 3, 2010 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Latest release of fastest growing cloud antivirus service takes major step forward in consumer PC protection and convenience

Panda Security  announced the launch of Panda Cloud Antivirus version 1.3, the latest in its anti-malware service for home computer users. The release features a new security safeguard against malicious websites, as well as improvements to the user experience, in both the Free and Pro Editions. Users of both Cloud Antivirus products will continue to benefit from the real-time protection with minimal computer resource consumption they have come to expect from Panda. Both products are available for download at http://www.cloudantivirus.com.

Adding another layer of cloud-based protection to both the Free and Pro editions, Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.3 has incorporated a URL and web filtering feature which blocks suspicious and malicious websites before they can exploit vulnerabilities and inflict damage upon the user. In addition, those using the Free Edition will now benefit from automatic and transparent upgrades to the latest program releases: a feature previously reserved for Panda Cloud Antivirus Pro. Read more

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Security Trends to Watch in 2010 – Symantec

November 30, 2009 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · 1 Comment 

Symantec  2010 Security Predictions

Antivirus is Not Enough – With the rise of polymorphic threats and the explosion of unique malware variants in 2009, the industry is quickly realizing that traditional approaches to antivirus, both file signatures and heuristic/behavioural capabilities, are not enough to protect against today’s threats. We have reached an inflection point where new malicious programs are actually being created at a higher rate than good programs. As such, we have also reached a point where it no longer makes sense to focus solely on analyzing malware. Instead, approaches to security that look to ways to include all software files, such as reputation-based security, will become key in 2010.

Social Engineering as the Primary Attack Vector – More and more, attackers are going directly after the end user and attempting to trick them into downloading malware or divulging sensitive information under the auspice that they are doing something perfectly innocent. Social engineering’s popularity is at least in part spurred by the fact that what operating system and Web browser rests on a user’s computer is largely irrelevant, as it is the actual user being targeted, not necessarily vulnerabilities on the machine. Social engineering is already one of the primary attack vectors being used today, and Symantec estimates that the number of attempted attacks using social engineering techniques is sure to increase in 2010.

Rogue Security Software Vendors Escalate Their Efforts – In 2010, expect to see the propagators of rogue security software scams take their efforts to the next level, even by hijacking users’ computers, rendering them useless and holding them for ransom. A less drastic next step, however, would be software that is not explicitly malicious, but dubious at best. For example, Symantec has already observed some rogue antivirus vendors selling rebranded copies of free third-party antivirus software as their own offerings. In these cases, users are technically getting the antivirus software that they pay for, but the reality is that this same software can actually be downloaded for free elsewhere.

Social Networking Third-Party Applications Will be the Target of Fraud – With the popularity of social networking sites poised for another year of unprecedented growth, expect to see fraud being leveraged against site users to grow. In the same vein, expect owners of these sites to create more proactive measures to address these threats. As this occurs, and as these sites more readily provide third-party developer access to their APIs, attackers will likely turn to vulnerabilities in third-party applications for users’ social networking accounts, just as we have seen attackers leverage browser plug-ins more as Web browsers themselves become more secure.

Windows 7 Will Come into the Cross-Hairs of Attackers - Microsoft has already released the first security patches for the new operating system. As long as humans are programming computer code, flaws will be introduced, no matter how thorough pre-release testing is, and the more complex the code, the more likely that undiscovered vulnerabilities exist. Microsoft’s new operating system is no exception, and as Windows 7 hits the pavement and gains traction in 2010, attackers will undoubtedly find ways to exploit its users.

Fast Flux Botnets Increase – Fast flux is a technique used by some botnets, such as the Storm botnet, to hide phishing and malicious Web sites behind an ever-changing network of compromised hosts acting as proxies. Using a combination of peer-to-peer networking, distributed command and control, web-based load balancing and proxy redirection, it makes it difficult to trace the botnets’ original geo-location. As industry counter measures continue to reduce the effectiveness of traditional botnets, expect to see more using this technique being used to carry out attacks.

URL Shortening Services Become the Phisher’s Best Friend - Because users often have no idea where a shortened URL is actually sending them, phishers are able to disguise links that the average security conscious user might think twice about clicking on. Symantec is already seeing a trend toward using this tactic to distribute misleading applications and we expect much more to come. Also, in an attempt to evade antispam filters through obfuscation, expect spammers to leverage shortened URLs shorteners to carry out their own evil deeds.

Mac and Mobile Malware Will Increase – The number of attacks designed to exploit a certain operating system or platform is directly related to that platform’s market share, as malware authors are out to make money and always want the biggest bang for their buck. In 2009, we saw Macs and smartphones targeted more by malware authors, for example the Sexy Space botnet aimed at the Symbian mobile device operating system and the OSX. Iservice Trojan targeting Mac users. As Mac and smartphones continue to increase in popularity in 2010, more attackers will devote time to creating malware to exploit these devices.

Spammers Breaking the Rules – As the economy continues to suffer and more people seek to take advantage of the loose restrictions of the CAN SPAM Act, we’ll see more organizations selling unauthorized e-mail address lists and more less-than-legitimate marketers spamming those lists.

As Spammers Adapt, Spam Volumes Will Continue to Fluctuate – Since 2007, spam has increased on average by 15 percent. While this significant growth in spam e-mail may not be sustainable in the long term, it is clear that spammers are not yet willing to give up as long an economic motive is present. Spam volumes will continue to fluctuate in 2010 as spammers continue to adapt to the sophistication of security software, the intervention of responsible ISPs and government agencies across the globe.

Specialized Malware – Highly specialized malware was uncovered in 2009 that was aimed at exploiting certain ATMs, indicating a degree of insider knowledge about their operation and how they could be exploited. Expect this trend to continue in 2010, including the possibility of malware targeting electronic voting systems, both those used in political elections and public telephone voting, such as that connected with reality television shows and competitions.

CAPTCHA Technology Will Improve – As this happens and spammers have a more difficult time breaking CAPTCHA codes through automated processes, spammers in emerging economies will devise a means to use real people to manually generate new accounts for spamming, thereby attempting to bypass the improved technology. Symantec estimates that the individuals employed to manually create these accounts will be paid less than 10 percent of the cost to the spammers, with the account-farmers charging $30-40 per 1,000 accounts.

Instant Messaging Spam - As cybercriminals exploit new ways to bypass CAPTCHA technologies, instant messenger (IM) attacks will grow in popularity. IM threats will largely be comprised of unsolicited spam messages containing malicious links, especially attacks aimed at compromising legitimate IM accounts. By the end of 2010, Symantec predicts that one in 300 IM messages will contain a URL. Also, in 2010, Symantec predicts that overall, one in 12 hyperlinks will be linked to a domain known to be used for hosting malware. Thus, one in 12 hyperlinks appearing in IM messages will contain a domain that has been considered suspicious or malicious. In mid 2009, that level was 1 in 78 hyperlinks.

Non-English Spam Will Increase – As broadband connection penetration continues to grow across the globe, particularly in developing economies, spam in non-English speaking countries will increase. In some parts of Europe, Symantec estimates the levels of localized spam will exceed 50 percent of all spam.

Source: Symantec Corp

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Panda Cloud Antivirus emerges from Beta, bringing free, proven PC Protection to the masses

November 10, 2009 · Filed Under Internet Software, Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Panda Security goes beyond the basics with world’s most lightweight and complete free anti-virus service for home users

Panda Cloud Antivirus, the industry’s first and most comprehensive free cloud anti-virus service that protects consumers PCs against the latest malware, spyware, rootkits and viruses, emerged from beta after six months of user testing. To experience the expanded performance and support capabilities of Cloud Antivirus, as well as benefit from both online and offline security protection, consumers can download the free service from Panda Security at http://www.cloudantivirus.com/.

“Since the beta release of Panda Cloud Antivirus in April, we have been judiciously testing our cloud-based protection model, making upgrades in security and performance, and listening to our user community,” said Juan Santana, CEO of Panda Security. “With Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.0, we’ve really changed the game, providing our users the most powerful and lightweight free protection available on the market today.”

Recognized for being “the first anti-virus without an update button”, Panda Cloud Antivirus delivers the fastest protection against the newest and most dangerous viruses. This is made possible thanks to Collective Intelligence, Panda’s advanced system that gathers malware information from its global community of users in the cloud to automatically identify and classify new malware strains in minutes. Collective Intelligence combines local detection technologies with real-time cloud-scanning to maximize protection while minimizing resource consumption. Available in 11 languages, Panda Cloud Antivirus works under Windows XP (32 bits), Windows Vista (32bits and 64bits) and Windows 7 (32bits and 64bits) operating systems and only consumes 20 MB of RAM.

According to a recent PC World review of free anti-virus offerings:

“Among all of the free anti-virus software we tested for our latest roundup, Panda Cloud Antivirus was the best app at blocking known malware. The approach is intended to take advantage of the latest signatures without the need for signature-database updates-and if its excellent showing at detecting malware in AV-Test.org’s zoo of half a million samples is any indication, the approach works. Panda’s app produced an impressive 99.4 percent overall detection rate.”

Notable new features and upgrades to Cloud Antivirus from the initial beta include:

– New and improved interface makes Cloud Antivirus even easier to use
– Improved performance with cache optimization and memory management lowers CPU utilization and memory consumption
– New website and Collective Intelligence Monitor give users access to a list of malware from the community that is updated in real-time
– Online support forums now available at http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum/index.jspa

Source: Panda Security

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Panda Security launches Panda Cloud Antivirus Beta2, industry’s only free cloud-based antivirus

July 20, 2009 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Panda Security, The Cloud Security Company, announced the general availability of the Beta2 version of Panda Cloud Antivirus  the industry’s first and only free, thin-client, cloud-based antivirus which halves the impact on computer performance compared with traditional antivirus products. Users can download this new version for free from http://www.cloudantivirus.com or visit the official developer blog at http://blog.cloudantivirus.com.

Since its original launch on April 29, and with the participation of the product’s user community, more than three million new malware samples have been received at PandaLabs. This knowledge has been compiled and returned to the community in the form of greater protection, and has contributed to an even faster response time from Panda’s proprietary Collective Intelligence system. Each new file received by Collective Intelligence is classified automatically within six minutes.

Panda Cloud Antivirus includes local and remote antivirus protection, as well as anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, heuristic scanning and a goodware cache. On average, it consumes just 17 MB of RAM, and ensures a 50 percent improvement in computer performance compared to traditional antivirus products. To see a video of how Panda Cloud Antivirus operates, go to YouTube.

Panda Cloud Antivirus represents a new security model based on ultra-light client/server architecture to process and block malware more effectively and efficiently than traditional products that rely on locally installed signature files. By shifting the process of analyzing and identifying malware to the cloud, and applying non-intrusive interception techniques in client architecture, Panda Cloud Antivirus delivers advanced protection against new and unknown viruses with an extremely light, resource-friendly agent.

Source: Panda Security

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