Top 10 Malware Threats for January

February 4, 2010 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · 1 Comment 

Leading anti-malware developer finds continued prevalence of Trojan horse programs

Sunbelt Software announced the top 10 most prevalent malware threats for the month of January 2010. The report, compiled from monthly scans performed by Sunbelt’s award-winning anti-malware solution, VIPRE® Antivirus + Antispyware, and its antispyware tool, CounterSpy®, is a service of SunbeltLabs(TM).

In January, the malware landscape remained remarkably similar to December, according to Sunbelt Software ThreatNet statistics. The top seven detections were the same as December, but in a slightly different order. In December and January, six of the top 10 detections were Trojan horse programs.

Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT – a generic detection for Trojans that comprised nearly one quarter (23.15 percent) of all the malware found. It remained in the top position for the third month in a row, growing by nearly 20 percent from 18.69 percent of all detections in December. It is a detection that includes many downloaders associated with scareware or rogue security products.

After holding the top spot on the list for most of 2009, the password-stealing Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.gen held the second position on the list for the third consecutive month, decreasing from 6.23 to 4.91 percent of all detections.

“I think we can expect to see Trojan horse programs continue to be the top detections for the foreseeable future,” said Michael St. Neitzel, Sunbelt Software vice president of Threat Research. “Trojans used to download and install a wide variety of other malware and those are the real moneymakers for the bad guys.”

Other Trojans in the top 10 were:
– Trojan.Win32.Generic!SB.0
– Trojan.Win32.Malware
– Trojan.ASF.Wimad (v)
– Trojan.HTML.FakeAlert.a (v)

Meanwhile, three new detections moved onto this month’s top 10 list. Virtumonde — a generalized description of an adware program with many versions of pop up advertising — constituted 1.23 percent of overall detections. Packed.Win32.TDSS.aa.3 (v) — a sophisticated rootkit and Trojan that is used primarily to redirect search engine results — made up 1.21 percent. Finally, Trojan.HTML.FakeAlert.a (v) — a detection for an HTML file which replaces a desktop background and works with other rogue malware — made up just under one percent of all detections.

The top 10 results represent the number of times a particular malware infection was detected during VIPRE and CounterSpy scans that report back to ThreatNet, Sunbelt’s community of opt-in users. These threats are classified as moderate to severe based on method of installation among other criteria established by SunbeltLabs. The majority of these threats propagate through stealth installations or social engineering.

The top 10 most prevalent malware threats for the month of January are:
1. Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT 23.15%
2. Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.gen 4.91%
3. Exploit.PDF-JS.Gen (v) 4.55%
4. Trojan.Win32.Generic!SB.0 2.40%
5. Trojan.Win32.Malware 1.93%
6. Trojan.ASF.Wimad (v) 1.92%
7. INF.Autorun (v) 1.46%
8. Virtumonde 1.23%
9. Packed.Win32.TDSS.aa.3 (v) 1.21%
10. Trojan.HTML.FakeAlert.a (v) 0.98%

Source: Sunbelt Software

Tags: , , , , ,

Perimeter E-Security ranks the Top 10 Information Security Threats for 2010

January 17, 2010 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Malware and Malicious Insiders Top the List as Rising Threats; Vulnerability Exploits will be the Heart of Hacking and Data Breaches

Perimeter E-Security, the trusted market leader of information security services that delivers enterprise-class protection and compliance to companies of all sizes, unveiled its Top 10 Information Security Threats for 2010.

“The start of a new year is a great time for companies to evaluate their information security practices and begin thinking about what threats they’ll be facing in the coming year,” said Kevin Prince, CTO, Perimeter E-Security. “As these security threats are becoming more serious and difficult to detect, it is vital for companies to understand what they can do to best protect their systems and information.”

Perimeter’s ranking of the Top 10 information security threats for 2010:

1. Malware (Rising Threat)

Last year, Malware was listed as the second highest ranked threat to organizations on Perimeter E-Security’s list of top threats. There are many methods to install malware on systems, including the use of client-side software vulnerabilities. Browsers remain a top target for vulnerabilities. In 2009, the FBI reported that for the first time ever, revenue from cybercrime had exceeded drug trafficking, estimated at taking in more than one billion annually in profits.

2. Malicious Insiders (Rising Threat)

Malicious insiders were listed as the top threat for 2009, but have fallen to the #2 spot for 2010. With the downturn in the economy last year, it was no surprise that many desperate and disgruntled employees attempted to exploit the companies they currently or previously worked for. There is no way to eliminate the threat of malicious insiders completely, but through good security policies and followed procedures, the incidents could be a fraction of what they are today. With the economy still suffering and still high unemployment levels, Malicious Insiders will continue to be a threat.

3. Exploited Vulnerabilities (Steady Threat)

Vulnerability exploit is at the heart of hacking and data breaches. Worms, viruses, malware, and a host of other attack types often rely on vulnerability exploit to infect, spread and perform the actions cyber criminals want. And yet, organizations are still not doing what they need to for patch management. Hackers are more often exploiting client side vulnerabilities and other vulnerabilities associated with 3rd party applications.

4. Careless Employees (Steady Threat)

Careless and untrained insiders will continue to be a very serious threat to organizations in 2010. Insiders can be broken down into three categories: careless & untrained employees, employees that are duped or fall prey to social engineering type attacks, and malicious employees. Protecting a network and critical and sensitive data is done very differently for each type. Policies, procedures, training and a little technology can make a world of difference in reducing an organization’s risk to careless insiders.

5. Mobile Devices (Rising Threat)

Mobile devices have become a plague for information security professionals. There are worms and other malware that specifically target these devices such as the iPhone worm that would steal banking data and enlist these devices in a botnet. Theft is still a major cause of data breaches as mobile devices, especially laptops, are the main culprits. Tens of thousands of laptops are stolen each year and often these have sensitive data that require public disclosure as a data breach.

6. Social Networking (Rising Threat)

Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others have changed the way people communicate with each other, but these sites can pose serious threats to organizations. One main problem is that there is a trust component to these sites which makes them fertile ground for identity thieves. There is also a personal safety issue. Social networking sites are a stalker’s dream come true. Social networking sites are breeding grounds for SPAM, scams, scareware and a host of other attacks and these threats will continue to rise.

7. Social Engineering (Steady Threat)

Social engineering is always a popular tool used by cyber criminals and phishing is still a popular method for doing just that. In fact, these new venues make social engineering even more effective. This year will have an added measure of complexity when it comes to social engineering attacks. Beginning sometime mid-2010, domain names will be expanded to include Japanese, Arabic, Hindi and even Greek characters, and with all of these characters being available for domain names, no longer will looking at a domain help one determine if it’s legitimate or not.

8. Zero-Day Exploits (Rising Threat)

Zero-day exploits are when an attacker can compromise a system based on a known vulnerability but no patch or fix exists, and they have become a very serious threat to information security. Zero-day vulnerabilities are being discovered in traditionally very secure protocols such as SSL and TLS. The zero-day vulnerability could also be in providers.

9. Cloud Computing Security Threats (Rising Threat)

Using cloud based (i.e. Internet based) applications may not be as secure as once thought with many stories in 2009 regarding cloud based security issues. Many are calling for forced encryption to access “in the cloud” services. As cloud computing grows in popularity over the next few years, cloud security will become a very big issue.

10. Cyberespionage (Rising Threat)

Cyberespionage is a threat that’s being heard more and more all the time and there have been a flood of stories in 2009 on this subject. Most of these incidents surround government bodies and agencies and therefore have not been a huge threat to most individual organizations. However, since cyberespionage has major implications for the government, it is a rising threat that must be closely monitored.

“Information security is an ever-evolving discipline that requires tremendous expertise, time, and money to effectively manage. Every organization should take stock of what they are doing today and how well their current solutions mitigate the risk of the top 10 threats. In most cases, adjustments will need to be made and new technology should be implemented to ensure that the organization is properly prepared for what cyber criminals, spammers, phishers and hackers are planning for 2010,” added Prince.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Trend Micro 2010 Future Threat Report

December 14, 2009 · Filed Under Internet Software, Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Virtualization, Cloud-Computing and a Shifting Internet Infrastructure Will Widen the Scope of Cybercrime

Using news headlines and the latest technological trends, cybercriminals are brilliantly agile at exploiting whatever is trendy for cash and profit. Now, the growing popularity of cloud computing and virtualization among companies is likely to catch the attention of criminals scheming for the next hot cyber-swindle.

According to the Trend Micro 2010 Future Threat Report, cloud computing and virtualization — while offering significant benefits and cost-savings — move servers outside the traditional security perimeter and expand the playing field for cybercriminals. The industry already witnessed Danger/Sidekick’s cloud-based server failure that caused major data outages in November 2009, highlighting cloud-computing risks that cybercriminals will likely abuse. Trend Micro believes cybercriminals will either be manipulating the connection to the cloud, or attacking the data center and cloud itself.

The Internet infrastructure is changing, opening more opportunities for cybercrime

The “next-generation” protocol designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force, Internet Protocol v. 6, is still in the experimentation stages of replacing the current IPv4, now 20 years old. As users start to explore IPv6, so will cybercriminals, and we can expect to see proof-of-concept elements in IPv6 start to materialize in the upcoming new year. Possible avenues for abuse include new covert channels or C&C. But don’t expect active targeting of IPv6 address space–at least not in the very immediate future.

Domain names are becoming more internationalized and the introduction of regional top-level domains (Russian, Chinese, and Arabic characters) will create new opportunities to launch age-old attacks through look-alike domains for phishing – using Cyrillic characters in place of similar looking Latin characters. Trend Micro predicts this will lead to reputation problems and abuse that will challenge security companies.

Social media and social networks will be used by cybercriminals to enter the users’ “circle of trust”

Social engineering will continue to play a big role in the propagation of threats. But given the increasing saturation of social media with content intended to be shared via online social interactions, cybercriminals will definitely try to penetrate and compromise popular communities more than ever in 2010.

Social networks are also ripe venues for stealing personally identifiable information (PII). The quality and quantity of data posted openly by most trusting users on their profile pages, combined with interaction clues, are more than enough for cybercriminals to stage identity thefts and targeted social engineering attacks. The situation will worsen in 2010, with high-profile personalities suffering from online impersonators or stolen bank accounts.

The extinction of global outbreaks, and the growth of localized, targeted attacks

The threat landscape has shifted and we are no longer seeing global outbreaks like Slammer or CodeRed. Even the much covered Conficker incident of 2008 and early 2009 was not a global outbreak by its true definition; rather it was a carefully orchestrated and architected attack. Moving forward, localized and targeted attacks are expected to grow in their number and sophistication.

More key forecasts for 2010 and beyond:
– It’s all about money, so cybercrime will not go away.
– Windows 7 will have an impact since it is less secure than Vista in the default configuration.
– Risk mitigation is not as viable an option anymore-even with alternative Browsers /alternative operating systems.
– Malware is changing its shape – every few hours.
– Drive-by infections are the norm – one Web visit is enough to get infected.
– New attack vectors will arise for virtualized/cloud environments.
– Bots can’t be stopped anymore, and will be around forever.
– Company/Social networks will continue to be shaken by data breaches.

Source: Trend Micro Incorporated

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WatchGuard announces Top Threats to education

November 4, 2009 · Filed Under Software News · Comment 

Education-related Threats Expected to Rise – According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 25 percent of all cyber-security breaches involve schools, and although a majority of educators believe that their campus networks are more secure now than last year, WatchGuard predicts that significant breaches, vulnerabilities and threats will continue to plague schools and universities. WatchGuard deems the following to be the leading network, application and data threats to education:

– Malware & Spyware - As students and faculty utilize the Web for education as well as entertainment purposes, many unwittingly expose themselves to drive-by downloads, or corrupted websites, which injects malicious forms of software on their computers. Once infected, they risk becoming victims of identity theft or loss of personal information via spyware and keyloggers.
– Viruses – Today, e-mail remains to be one of the primary vectors for delivering viruses. Unfortunately, a recent survey showed that 27 percent of users fail to keep their antivirus signatures up to date.  With viruses taking on innovative polymorphic properties, antivirus signatures alone may not be enough to stop the next wave of new viruses to come.
– Botnets – It has been estimated that 15 to 20 percent of all school and university computers connected to the Internet may be part of a botnet. As part of a botnet, school and university systems may be used in a variety of unknown exploits, including spam delivery, denial of service attacks, click-fraud, identity theft and more.
– Phishing – Phishing scams continue to get more sophisticated and selective, with students being specifically targeted. A recent report states that phishing attacks via social networks achieve a success rate of over 70 percent, which indicates that a majority of students are vulnerable to phishing scams.
– Hacking - In a recent survey of education IT professionals, 23 percent ranked student hackers as one of their greatest threats to their network security. Whether the hacks are designed to alter grades or for more sinister purposes, student hackers continue to push the envelope for network and data protection.
– Access Control – Usage of mobile devices and wireless access continues to plague network administrators. Concerns of thwarting unauthorized user access to education IT resources is top of mind with many administrators. As use of mobile devices escalates, schools will face
increasing challenges in managing authorized network access.
– Social Networks – The number one threat to school and university networks is social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace.  Unfortunately, social networks act as an ideal platform to launch a myriad of attacks against students and faculty, including spam, viruses, malware, phishing and more. Adding to this, socially engineered attacks are often extremely successful due to the “trusted” environment that social networks create.

– Because of the sensitive nature of student and faculty information, such as social security numbers, credit card information, and other personal identifying data at risk, WatchGuard recommends that schools and universities review their security controls and IT policies regularly to ensure they have the most effective, up-to-date security solutions in place.

Source: WatchGuard Technologies

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

U.S. ranks 9th in Global PC Infection Report, according to PandaLabs

September 29, 2009 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Average number of worldwide infections grew 15 percent over last month – Global infection ratio hits all time high this year at nearly 60 percent

PandaLabs, Panda Security’s malware analysis and detection laboratory, announced that it has detected a 15 percent increase in the total number of malware-infected computers in September in comparison to the previous month of August. According to data gathered from users that scanned and disinfected their computers with the free Panda ActiveScan online antivirus, the average infection ratio rose to 59 percent, the highest rate this year.

In comparison to the infection rates of 29 countries, the U.S. ranks ninth with an infection ratio of 58.25 percent, just below the worldwide average. Taiwan has the most infected PCs, with a 69.10 percent corruption, followed by Russia and China at 67.99 percent and 61.97 percent, respectively. The country with the least infections is Norway at 39.60 percent. To view a table that outlines the percentage of infected computers by country, please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/panda_security/3963144168/.

According to Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs, “There is a false sense of security, as users perceive there to be no real danger at the moment. When their computers get infected, they rarely notice any symptoms.”

Panda’s study revealed that U.S. computers are infected by the most dangerous malware strains: Trojans, followed by adware, worms and viruses. To see the number and types of malware on infected computers in the U.S., please visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lithium-/3963437003/sizes/o/.

“This is a clear sign that hackers are becoming more and more sophisticated,” explains Corrons. “Cybercriminals have found news ways to spread their creations, frequently exploiting the latest news stories to launch attacks through social networks, videos, and email. The huge amount of Trojans in circulation is due to the spectacular increase in the number of banker Trojans aimed at stealing user data.”

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PandaLabs uncovers online Facebook password hacking service

September 19, 2009 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

According to its Ukraine-based creators, hacking an account costs $100, payable through Western Union

PandaLabs, Panda Security’s malware analysis and detection laboratory, today announced the discovery of an online service that promises to hack into any Facebook account for $100. The creators claim, “Any Facebook account can be hacked,” promising to provide clients with the login and password credentials to access any account on the popular social networking site.

According to Luis Corrons, Technical Director of PandaLabs, “The service’s real purpose may be hacking Facebook accounts as they say, or profiting from those that want to try the service. In any case, the Web page is very well designed. It is easy to contract the service and become either the victim of an online fraud, or a cyber-criminal and accomplice in identity theft. Once an intruder hacks into a Facebook account, all personal data published on the site can be stolen. Similarly, those accounts can also be used to send malware, spam or other threats to the victim’s contacts. In the case of celebrities of other well-known entities, they can be used to defame the account holder, spread information in their name, etc. In any event, this is criminal activity.”

In addition to extorting money and obtaining access to clients’ bank account information, the service also has characteristics in line with hacker affiliate programs. Common among cybercriminals, hacker affiliate programs offer other cybercriminals money to spread malware. This strategy is now being used with everyday Internet users through this Facebook hacking site, by offering extra dollar-credits to spend on the service when users hack more accounts. They can become affiliates to help hackers reach a broader audience, receiving 20 percent of what they sell in credits for hacking more accounts.

It is likely that the cybercriminals behind this operation are members of an Eastern European Internet mafia because payments are conducted online through Western Union wire transfers to a payee in Ukraine. The domain that hosts the service is registered in Moscow, providing further evidence of this theory.

The company claims to have been offering this service for four years with only one percent of accounts hack-proof. In these cases, they offer clients a money-back guarantee. However, the domain is just a few days old.

A series of images illustrating the sales flow can be found on the PandaLabs blog: http://www.pandalabs.com/.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Panda Security announces Windows 7 compatibility for all 2010 Consumer Solutions

September 18, 2009 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Users can download free beta version from http://www.pandasecurity.com/windows7

Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company, announced that PandaLabs, the company’s laboratory for detecting and analyzing malware, has launched a beta version of its Panda 2010 security solutions to be compatible with the Windows 7 beta. Users who have installed the beta version of the new Microsoft operating system will benefit from the best protection against malware. The general release version will be available as soon as the new operating system is launched on October 22.

Panda’s 2010 solutions use Collective Intelligence, the company’s exclusive cloud-computing technology, to leverage the knowledge gathered from the community of millions of Panda users around the world. Each new file received is classified automatically within six minutes. The Collective Intelligence servers automatically classify more than 50,000 new malware samples every day. These technologies correlate information on malware received from each computer to continuously improve the protection level for the worldwide community of users. In addition, Panda’s 2010 solutions have perpetual, real-time contact with this vast knowledge base, guaranteeing users the fastest response against new malware that appears every day.

The new Panda 2010 solutions, recently launched on the market, are designed specifically to offer maximum protection with minimum resource consumption. The new 2010 product line has achieved an 80 percent performance improvement compared to previous versions. Panda’s new retail solutions also deliver 60 percent improved browsing speed and 40 percent improved download speed over previous versions, consuming just 8 MB of PC memory.

Source

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Panda Security ranks the most dangerous computer threats of the last 20 years

September 13, 2009 · Filed Under Internet Software, Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Panda Security, the Cloud Security Company, announced that PandaLabs, the company’s laboratory for detecting and analyzing malware, has issued a ranking of the most dangerous threats to home and business users of the last 20 years. Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the company, experts from PandaLabs wanted to research the most insidious malware threats that have surfaced in the past two decades.

The following threats have been selected for the notoriety they achieved through widespread epidemic and the damage caused:

– Friday 13 or Jerusalem: Created in Israel in 1988 and first reported in Jerusalem, this supposedly commemorated the 40th anniversary of Israel. Whenever the date was Friday 13, it would delete all programs run on an infected computer.
– Barrotes: The first well-known Spanish virus appeared in 1993. Once on the computer, it would remain hidden until January 5, when it would activate displaying just a series of bars on the monitor.
– Cascade or Falling Letters: Created in Germany in 1997, this virus would make the letters on the screen fall in a cascade whenever it infected a computer.
– CIH or Chernobyl: This virus was produced in Taiwan in 1998, and took just one week to propagate and infect thousands of computers.
– Melissa: First appeared on March 26, 1999 in the USA. This ultra-smart malicious code used social engineering to spread, with a message that read “Here is that document you asked for. . . don’t show anyone else ;-) ”
– ILoveYou or Loveletter: So famous, it hardly needs introduction. This romantic virus emerged from the Philippines in 2000. With the subject ‘ILoveYou’ it infected millions of computers around the world and even hit organizations like the Pentagon.
– Klez: Created in 2001 in Germany, it only infected computers on the 13th of odd months.
– Nimda: The name is basically ‘admin’ spelled backwards, as it was able to create administrator privileges on infected computers. It originated in China on September 18, 2001.
– SQLSlammer: This was another major headache for companies. It first appeared on January 25, 2003, and affected more than half a million servers in just a few days.
– Blaster: This virus, created in the USA on August 11, 2003, contained a message in its code: “I just want to say love you, San!!” (We still don’t know who ‘San’ is), and “Billy gates, why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software”.
– Sobig: This German virus was famous in the summer of 2003. The F variant was the most damaging, it attacked on August 19 of the same year and generated more than 1 million copies of itself.
– Bagle: This emerged on January 18, 2004, and has been one of the most prolific viruses with respect to the number of variants.
– Netsky: This worm also came from Germany in 2004 and exploited vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. Its creator was also responsible for the notorious Sasser virus.
– Conficker: Last on the list and most recent, it appeared in November 2008. Oddly enough, if your keyboard is configured in Ukrainian, it won’t affect you. . .

Source: Panda Security

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

McAfee and Phoenix Technologies to deliver a secured computing cloud for PC Notebook & Netbook users

August 28, 2009 · Filed Under Internet Software, Security Software, Software News · Comment 

Viruses, malicious attacks, malware and spyware meet new gatekeeper with combined technologies delivering unrivaled online and platform protection for consumers

McAfee, Inc., the world’s largest dedicated security technology company, and Phoenix Technologies Ltd., the leader in PC 3.0(TM) products, services and embedded technologies, announced their partnership to develop a product for HyperSpace(TM) — Phoenix’s groundbreaking instant-on computing environment for notebooks and netbooks. By combining technologies, McAfee and Phoenix plan to provide computer users revolutionary new levels of protection from viruses and targeted attacks as well as online malware and spyware intrusions.

HyperSpace, a Moblin-compliant, instant-on computing environment features applications that are certified by Phoenix to ensure the integrity of the computing environment. Contents of the hard drive remain walled off from the internet and are therefore protected. By teaming with McAfee, HyperSpace is achieving new levels of consumer internet security protection.

The explosion in Web 2.0 applications, including social networking sites with cloud-based applications and functionality, has created new vehicles for launching malicious attacks, according to McAfee’s “2009 Threat Predictions.” Including McAfee’s technology into HyperSpace means computer users will have additional protection from online threats.

“McAfee’s superior technology complements the device-level protection provided by HyperSpace by blocking attacks targeting the browser or network access,” said Brent Remai, vice president of consumer marketing at McAfee. “With the online threatscape constantly shifting, and computer users moving more and more of their activities and documents onto cloud-based systems, the combination of HyperSpace and McAfee represents a powerful security option available for computer users.”

“Security plays a key role in our PC 3.0(TM) strategy of providing software and services that make computing devices more user-friendly,” said Woody Hobbs, President and CEO of Phoenix Technologies. “Protection from malicious software and other forms of attack enhances the user experience. By itself, HyperSpace provides a secure computing environment for users to surf the Web, access applications and sensitive data and conduct financial and other transactions. Layering in McAfee’s best-in-class security technology provides additional tiers of vault-like protection for computer users that are unmatched in the industry.”

HyperSpace is designed to deliver significantly faster boot times, continuous, smart internet connectivity, extended battery life and new levels of security protection while online. With HyperSpace, users can begin searching the Web, send and receive email, use other Web-based applications and work in important productivity applications within seconds of turning on their computing device. Users also enjoy the benefits of up to two hours of extra battery life on their HyperSpace-enabled laptops and all-day computing on their netbooks and smartbooks. The HyperSpace platform also provides a unique computing environment that PC designers, software developers and content providers can utilize to create always-available, instant-on applications that bring new convenience, connectivity, uptime and security to users.

Source: Phoenix Technologies Ltd.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Next Page »