anti-virus

New malware is circulating on the Internet that infects Mac machines and tries to trick users into giving away their credit card data. According to Intego the malicious app called MacDefender hides on some webpages that use search engine optimization to spam the results of popular searches. On such infected websites users can see animation of a malware scam followed by a pop-up message telling users that their computer is infected. JavaScript on the page then automatically downloads a compressed ZIP file containing the malware.

Kaspersky Lab has introduced BlackBerry and Android versions of its security software. The new software has fewer features than the existing versions for Symbian and Windows Mobile, according to the technical data.

Both the Android and BlackBerry versions can remotely block a lost or stolen device and delete its data upon receipt of an SMS (Short Message Service) code.

According to separate studies a great number of users still remain infected with PC malware even though their machines have security protections such as anti-virus software.

One study by European Union statistics agency EUROSTAT shows that 31% of PC users had malicious software in spite of the fact that 84% of users were running security apps including anti-virus, anti-spam and firewall. Besides, 3% of respondents also reported financial losses because of farming or phishing attacks, while a further 4 per cent reported privacy violations involving data sent online.

Microsoft has issued the final version of its free security solution after a five-month beta testing program. The new version features updated heuristic engine as well as the addition of network intrusion detection technology.

Besides, the slightly redesigned dashboard allows users to manage Microsoft's firewall from inside MSE. MSE 2.0 also features tighter integration with Internet Explorer as a mechanism for protecting against web-based threats.

Intel has purchased the information security company McAfee for $7.68bn. The chip maker has offered $48 a share in cash for the anti-virus firm, a 62 per cent premium of McAfee's Wednesday closing price of $29.93 a share.

Boards of directors of both companies have approved the deal, which is still subject to McAfee shareholder approval and regulatory approval.

Intel said the deal signalled its decision to put security on par with energy-efficient performance and internet connectivity as a strategic focus area.

According to a recent study by Cyveillance anti-virus software may be more inefficient than believed. The research revealed that on average security vendors detect only 19% of malware attacks on the first day it appears in the wild. Even after 30 days the rate is just 61.7%.

As a solution Cyveillance recommends users to practice safe computing which includes avoiding suspicious and unknown destinations with increased browser settings as a way to decrease to a minimum the risks instead of only relying on anti-virus technologies.

TalkTalk is surveilling the activity of its consumers without informing them of being traced for what they visit on the Internet. According to the explanation provided later by the company the scanning of what users look at on the web is necessary to develop a new anti-malware system.

At the first stage the company system is harvesting lists of the URLs every one of them visits. It often then follows them to the sites to scan for threats. At the second stage the data collected is used to block potentially dangerous sites at network level.

According to a study conducted by Ponemon Institute and commissioned by NetWitness a great part of the entities has been the target of the advanced threat which represents a methodology employed to evade an organizations present technical and process countermeasures which relies on a variety of attack techniques as opposed to one specific type.

A recent survey released late Tuesday by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) and China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team (CNCERT) revealed that the horrific majority of Chinese Internet users had no anti-virus last year while the security problems continued to grow across the nation.

The survey results showed that 384 million people in China used the Internet in the second half of last year and the number of people in the country surfing the Internet with no antivirus software was nearly 17 million!

In a move to provide customers with more comprehensive and functional security software Kaspersky Lab has launched a new product which integrates its current consumer security suite with new capabilities such as encryption, backup, password management, and the ability to manage the product across a network.

The new software called Kaspersky Pure offers a number of additional security tools apart from already existing features. The product replicates Kaspersky antivirus and antispam capabilities. Still it is different.

An online security vendor M86 Security reported that many URL filters and antivirus applications fail to recognize a big volume of malicious URLs. The conclusions were made on the basis of the test performed by the company.

M86 Security used three leading but unnamed antivirus products against 15,000 malicious URLs and found that only 39% were blocked successfully.

Having screened the set of malicious URLs against a URL filter the company found that only 444, about 3%, were correctly detected.

Should you use two different anti-virus programs on your PC? In the Answer Line section of PCWorld Magazine Lincoln Spector explained the disadvantages of using two different security applications at the same time.

He pointed to a commonly known truth that running two such antivirus programs could cause problems in case they are both resident. Resident program is a program that remains running in the background, and resident antivirus programs check every file that comes into your PC or that you open.

A Russian IT security vendor Dr.Web blacklisted Russian social networking website VKontakte.ru as Pornography in the Parents control mode.

The company explains the restriction as a move to protect users’ children against porn content. Meantime, the website management team disclaims any liability for indecent content posted by the users in one of the paragraphs of the user agreement.

Dr.Web notes that VKontakte.ru banned under the Parents control mode won’t be accessible even if the access is granted under the Social Network category.

The recommendations issued by Microsoft in October to delete some files from anti-virus software as a measure to prevent failures in the operating system performance were found to be detrimental to the security of users’ PCs, reported a security researcher.

 While the production of Apple Inc has always featured original design and in many cases unmatched functionality, this has never implied perfect performance with no faults or shortcomings. And this proves true when it comes to the security of Apple’s Mac operating system. Like its main rivals it can also be hit by hackers and fall under the attack of malware.