2010 Computer Threat Trends, PandaLabs forecast

December 17, 2009 · Filed Under Internet Software, Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Fake antivirus, bots and banker Trojans will continue to increase

Cyber-criminals will keep fine-tuning their social engineering skills to trick victims

More malware will be created for Windows 7 and Mac operating systems

The term ‘cyber war’ will become more familiar as politically-motivated attacks across the Internet increase

PandaLabs, Panda Security’s malware analysis and detection laboratory, has released its forecast of computer threat trends for 2010. PandaLabs predicts that in 2010, the amount of malware in circulation will continue to grow exponentially as it has in 2009. As anti-malware technologies are able to respond closer to real-time through cloud-based innovations such as Panda’s Collective Intelligence, malware creators will respond by generating even more diverse threats to evade detection and elimination. Once again malware will be designed almost exclusively for financial gain, and we can expect to see many new fake antivirus strains (rogueware), bots and banker Trojans.

Social Engineering Continues to Rise

Cyber-criminals will again be focusing on social engineering techniques to infect computers, particularly those targeting search engines (BlackHat SEO) and social networks, along with ‘drive-by-download’ infections from Web pages.

As the football World Cup takes place in South Africa, we can also expect to see significant amounts of malware related to this event: false ticket offers, junk mail, etc. It is always a good idea to be suspicious of any messages related with current affairs and large events such as this.

In the case of social networks, there have already been many examples of worms and Trojans targeting Twitter and Facebook. Malware creators will continue to be drawn to these types of platforms that are used by millions of people.

Watch Out Windows 7

Windows 7 will have a major impact on malware development: where Windows Vista hardly caused a ripple, Windows 7 will make waves. One of the main reasons is the widespread market acceptance of this new operating system, and since practically every new computer comes loaded with Windows 7 64-bit, criminals will be busy adapting malware to the new environment. It may take time, but we expect to see a major shift towards this platform over the next two years.

Mobile Phone Attacks – Not Yet!

Several security companies have been warning for some time that malware is soon to affect cell phones in much the same way as it affects PCs. Well, we hate to rain on their parade, but 2010 will not be the year of malware for cell phones.

The PC is a homogenous platform, with 90 percent of the world’s computers running Windows on Intel, meaning that any new Trojan, or worm has a potential victim pool of 90 percent of the world’s computers. The mobile phone environment is much more heterogeneous, with numerous vendors using different hardware and different operating systems.

Applications continue to be incompatible from one operating system to another. Therefore it is unlikely that 2010 will see widespread targeting of cell phones by malware. In any event, this year will witness many changes in the world of mobile telephony with more smartphones offering practically the same features as a PC; the emergence of Google Phone — the first phone sold directly by Google without tying users to specific operators; the increasing popularity of Android; and of course the iPhone. If in the next couple of years there are only two or three popular platforms, and if people make significantly more financial transactions from their phones, then the potential breeding ground for cyber-crime will be significant enough to be concerned.

Mac Becoming Increasingly Attractive to Cyber-Criminals

Mac’s market share has increased in recent years. Although the number of users has yet to reach the critical mass required to make it as profitable as PCs for cyber-criminals, it is nevertheless becoming more attractive. Mac is used just as PCs are to access social networks, email, and the Internet: the main malware distribution systems used by cyber-criminals. Consequently, Mac is no longer a safe haven against malware. These criminals can easily distinguish whether a system is Mac, and they are creating malware designed especially to target this OS. In 2009, we have already seen some attacks, and predict there are more to come in 2010.

Cyber war

Throughout 2009, governments around the world including the United States, the UK and Spain, have expressed concern about the potential for cyber-attacks to affect economies or critical infrastructure. We also saw this year how several Web pages in the United States and South Korea were the subject of attacks, with suspicion — as yet unapproved — pointing at North Korea. In 2010, we can expect to see similar politically-motivated attacks.

Securing the Cloud

Cloud-based services will continue to grow in popularity among consumers and business users alike. As this happens, the security industry must be acutely aware of cybercriminals’ moves to take advantage of this new platform.

Cloud Antivirus Technology on the Rise

2010 will be the year in which all anti-malware companies will innovate to remain competitive as cloud-based security becomes the most effective way to fight today’s malware. In 2007, Panda Security launched its first product which took advantage of the cloud. Now in 2009, all the company’s products use it and we have launched the first 100 percent cloud-based free antivirus: Panda Cloud Antivirus (www.cloudantivirus.com), and Panda has noticed that the rest of the marketplace is beginning to follow suit.

Source: Panda Security

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Apple unveils Mac OS X Snow Leopard

June 10, 2009 · Filed Under Software News, Utilities and Operating Systems · Comment 

Apple(R)  unveiled Mac OS(R) X Snow Leopard(TM), an even more powerful and refined version of the world’s most advanced operating system and the foundation for future Mac(R) innovation.

Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies, out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange and new accessibility features. Snow Leopard will ship as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users in September 2009 for $29.

“We’ve built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown,” said Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before.”

To create Snow Leopard, Apple engineers focused on perfecting the world’s most advanced operating system, refining 90 percent of the more than 1,000 projects in Mac OS X. Users will notice a more responsive Finder(TM); Mail that loads messages 85 percent faster and conducts searches up to 90 percent faster;* Time Machine(R) with up to 50 percent faster initial backup;* a Dock with Expose integration; a 64-bit version of Safari(R) 4 that boosts the performance of the Nitro JavaScript engine by up to 50 percent** and is resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins. Snow Leopard also includes an all new QuickTime(R) X, with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share video to YouTube, MobileMe(TM) or iTunes(R). Snow Leopard is half the size of the previous version and frees up to 6GB of drive space once installed.

For the first time, system applications including Finder, Mail, iCal(R), iChat(R) and Safari are 64-bit and Snow Leopard’s support for 64-bit processors makes use of large amounts of RAM, increases performance, and improves security while remaining compatible with 32-bit applications. Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) provides a revolutionary new way for software to take advantage of multicore processors. GCD is integrated throughout Snow Leopard, from new system-wide APIs to high-level frameworks and programming language extensions, improving responsiveness across the system. OpenCL, a C-based open standard, allows developers to tap the incredible power of the graphics processing unit for tasks that go beyond graphics.

Snow Leopard builds support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 right into Mac OS X Mail, Address Book and iCal so you can use these applications to send and receive email, create and respond to meeting invitations, and search and manage your contacts with global address lists. Exchange information works seamlessly within Snow Leopard so users can take advantage of OS X only features such as fast Spotlight(TM) searches and Quick Look previews. Snow Leopard is the only desktop operating system with out of the box support for Exchange 2007 and businesses of any size will find it easier to integrate Macs into their organization.

Every Mac includes innovative features and technologies for users with special needs, and Snow Leopard adds groundbreaking new features that make the Mac experience even more accessible to those with a vision impairment. Apple’s Multi-Touch(TM) trackpad is now integrated with the VoiceOver screen reader so users can hear and navigate different parts of a window or the desktop by moving a single finger around the trackpad as if it were the screen. Snow Leopard also introduces built-in support for wireless bluetooth braille displays and the connection of multiple braille displays simultaneously to one Mac.

Pricing & Availability

Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard in September 2009 through the Apple Store(R) (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The Snow Leopard single user license will be available for a suggested retail price of $29 (US) and the Snow Leopard Family Pack, a single household, five-user license, will be available for a suggested price of $49 (US). For Tiger(R) users with an Intel-based Mac, the Mac Box Set includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard, iLife(R) ’09 and iWork(R) ’09 and will be available for a suggested price of $169 (US) and a Family Pack is available for a suggested price of $229 (US).

The Mac OS X Snow Leopard Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorized Reseller between June 8, 2009 and the end of the program on December 26, 2009, for a product plus shipping and handling fee of $9.95 (US). Users must request their Up-To-Date upgrade within 90 days of purchase or by December 26, 2009, whichever comes first. For more information please visit www.apple.com/macosx/uptodate. Snow Leopard requires a minimum of 1GB of RAM and is designed to run on any Mac computer with an Intel processor. Full system requirements can be found at www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs.

*Testing conducted by Apple in May 2009 comparing prerelease Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6 with shipping Mac OS X Leopard v10.5.7 using shipping MacBook(R) 2.0 GHz systems with 2GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256MB) and shipping generation iMac(R) 2.66 GHz systems with 2GB of RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (256MB).

**Testing conducted by Apple in May 2009 comparing 64-bit Safari 4 to 32-bit Safari 4 on prerelease Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6. Performance will vary based on system configuration, network connection and other factors. All testing conducted on an iMac 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system running Mac OS X Snow Leopard, with 2GB of RAM. JavaScript benchmark based on the SunSpider JavaScript Performance test.

Source: Apple

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System Imaging Made Easier Than Ever With FileWave 3.7

April 27, 2009 · Filed Under Productivity Software, Security Software, Utilities and Operating Systems · Comment 

FileWave, a technology leader for software management on the Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux systems, announces the release of FileWave 3.7 for Mac OS. In addition to distributing, installing and configuring operating system upgrades, FileWave permits users to efficiently mass deploy and manage all other types of software, from large ready-to-use applications such as Adobe Creative Suite 4 and Microsoft Office to vital security patches, both in a single- and a multi-platform environment.

FileWave(TM) 3.7, with its own significant performance enhancements and greater administrative flexibility, transforms the process of installing a complicated and time-consuming upgrade into a straightforward and hassle-free affair. FileWave(TM) 3.7 includes a new feature to re-image an entire computer. FileWave had always been able to deliver and remove software but now we’ve made it easier to duplicate an existing computer and have other computers have exactly the same software installed. To use the FileWave Imager the FileWave Administrator selects a mounted disk volume and creates a new installation from the mounted disk volume. Additionally, the Administrator can control pre and post-installation actions to preserve computer names and user settings.

Additional enhancements to FileWave 3.7 include better searching for clients contained in groups, an idle-log-out of FileWave Admins from the FileWave Server and Fileset Properties to give finer grained control of Filesets stored on the FileWave Server.

“We are pleased to ship FileWave 3.7 with the imaging and Fileset Properties features for the Mac OS,” says Ben Forsyth, Director of Software Development at FileWave (USA), Inc. “We’ve had many requests from our customer base to provide a more seamless imaging solution and with FileWave 3.7, those features are now available.”

FileWave develops, markets and integrates the software management tools FileWave(TM) and Asset Trustee(TM). These products deploy, monitor, and manage applications in enterprise network environments based on Microsoft Windows, Linux and Apple Macintosh systems. Customers of FileWave include Nike, Gruner + Jahr, LEGO, Publicis and Viacom. For additional information, please visit www.filewave.com.

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