OpenTrust Suite for Cloud

January 5, 2011 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

OpenTrust announced OpenTrust Suite for Cloud, a full-featured offering of pay-as-you-go products and services designed to help customers make the most of the economic benefits and business flexibility of Cloud computing in a completely trusted environment.

As enterprises seek ways of both cutting costs and meeting ever-increasing technological demands, Cloud computing has emerged as a serious alternative to traditional packaged software. In a Cloud computing model, users access data and applications stored on remote hardware via the Internet, often using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

OpenTrust TaaS (Trust as a Service) is a unique trusted Cloud service. Customers using OpenTrust TaaS do not need to pay upfront software licenses and have instant access to secure, encrypted file exchange functions and/or digital signature services which are seamlessly integrated into business applications and portals.

These OpenTrust online services are available at a very competitive price and are proposed as a pay-as-you-go catalogue where customers purchase services depending on needs/volume and budget, therefore avoiding unnecessary, heavy upfront investment. What’s more, relying on the OpenTrust private Cloud can dramatically reduce the implementation timeline by up to 80%. Read more

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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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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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VASCO Data Security launches DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon

November 3, 2009 · Filed Under Security Software, Software News · Comment 

VASCO Data Security Inc. announced the launch of ‘DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon’. DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon offers companies of all size a cost effective way of protecting their Windows PCs which are connected to the corporate network, against unauthorised access.

With the availability of ‘DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon’ VASCO also announces the availability of IDENTIKEY Server Enterprise Edition. IDENTIKEY is VASCO’s comprehensive authentication server for network and application security offering OTP and e-signature capability.

IDENTIKEY Server Enterprise Edition

With IDENTIKEY Server Enterprise Edition, VASCO makes IDENTIKEY based strong authentication available to a vaster range of enterprises from large companies to smaller enterprises, starting at 5 users. VASCO’s IDENTIKEY offering consists of a number of standard packages:

Standard Edition: includes authentication through RADIUS on a single server
Gold Edition: comprises authentication through RADIUS and on IIS-based applications and can be installed on a Primary server with replication on a backup server
Enterprise Edition: includes authentication through RADIUS and on IIS-based applications, as well as internet hosted business applications and offers DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon.  This edition includes licenses for 7 servers.

The solution is made extremely convenient and simple, which makes it suitable for VASCO’s channel partners to implement and straightforward for the SME to use. Furthermore the solution is highly scalable: applications and users can easily be added as the company grows.

Traditionally companies start to secure their remote access with DIGIPASS strong user authentication. The use of static password, the weakest link when it comes down to security, is replaced with a dynamic One-Time Password (OTP) generated by DIGIPASS®.

As their understanding of strong authentication grows, they look to secure other applications with the same DIGIPASS, like portals, e-commerce, online applications.

Large enterprises increasingly look at authentication to secure their business critical applications including CRM, ERP, payroll systems, SaaS-applications,… These enterprises often have offices all over the world and largely depend on network infrastructure to communicate between offices. IDENTIKEY Enterprise Edition is ideally suited for distributed environments: it can be installed on up to 7 servers offering a high availability solution for authentication and supporting the distributed working environments of large enterprises.

IDENTIKEY is based on VASCO’s core VACMAN® technology and customers can choose from a wide range of DIGIPASS authenticators, both hardware and software based, which best fit the need of the end-user.

DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon

DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon offers companies of all size a cost effective way of protecting their Windows PCs which are connected to the corporate network, against unauthorised access. Even when laptops are not connected to the LAN, they remain protected, increasing the security of data stored on them in case they go missing or get stolen.

‘DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon’, a feature of IDENTIKEY Enterprise Edition, is installed as a small software module on the end user’s Windows environment. It can be installed on desktop PCs and laptops that are connected to the corporate network. As soon as ‘DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon’ is setup, it replaces the original login window by a version that will send the login credentials to IDENTIKEY Server for verification.

When laptops are used outside the corporate network, for instance on the road or at home, the log-on module will work in unconnected mode, allowing the same strong authentication functionality as in connected mode. If the computer works in unconnected mode, the login credentials are validated against a local database of one-time passwords. These OTPs are generated when the PC is working in connected mode, and they are securely encrypted and stored. With thousands of OTPs generated upfront, the user can work for several weeks in unconnected mode.

“The need for authentication is only growing. With IDENTIKEY and a single DIGIPASS, enterprises can secure the access to corporate networks, applications and business critical data. With the extension of the IDENTIKEY product-line with standard packaged solutions and adding DIGIPASS Authentication for Windows Logon, we are able to reach out to more enterprises, ranging from the 5-employee enterprise to the multi-national with several offices worldwide,” says Jan Valcke, President and COO at VASCO Data Security.

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BlackBerry spy software hits the market

October 26, 2009 · Filed Under Communications, Software News, Utilities and Operating Systems · Comment 

Retina-X Studios, LLC, announced the immediate availability of Mobile Spy for RIM BlackBerry devices. Using this groundbreaking BlackBerry technology, users can silently monitor GPS locations, incoming and outgoing text messages (SMS) and call information of children or employees — even if activity logs are erased. Mobile Spy had already been available for the iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian OS smartphones. The new version for the BlackBerry is now on the market.

Mobile Spy runs in total stealth mode and no mentions of the program are shown inside the BlackBerry. After the software is set up on the phone, it silently records GPS locations every fifteen minutes. The entire text of all SMS text messages along with the associated phone number is also recorded. Additionally, inbound and outbound call information with duration of the call is recorded. Immediately after activities are logged, they are silently uploaded to the user’s private online account. Accounts can be checked online from any web browser without needing further access to the phone.

“Mobile Spy is a priceless piece of software. After having some doubts about honesty, this really helped set the record straight and confirmed my suspicions,” says Derrick, a Mobile Spy user. Retina-X Studios CEO James Johns states, “With Mobile Spy, dedicated GPS tracking devices become obsolete. The BlackBerry can become the GPS tracking device and capture text messages and call information at the same time. This gives parents and employers a very effective way to monitor the locations and activities of children or employees.”

This exclusive system helps businesses enforce their Acceptable Use Policy on company-provided phones. The software can also monitor teen or family phones. It gives a parent the ability to remotely monitor their child’s texting activities by logging into a website from any web browser. Another common use is to back up a user’s own cell activity as a record of all important text conversations and travel details.

Mobile Spy runs on all modern BlackBerry devices and is also compatible with the iPhone and other smartphones running the Windows Mobile or Symbian OS operating system. These devices are available from most major mobile carriers. The BlackBerry version of Mobile Spy can be found at http://www.mobile-spy.com/spy-blackberry.html

Source: Retina-X Studios, LLC

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