Malware costs creators pennies per target machine
by Kerry ButtersA new study has investigated the proliferation of pay-per-install (PPI) services and has found that of the top 20 malware infections worldwide, 12 of them use PPI. In simple terms, malware writers use the services to source victims in order to install malicious software on their computers. The most popular forms of malware using PPI [...]
New trojan locks down Windows
by Kerry ButtersPanda Labs have revealed a new Trojan, described as being the latest in “ransomware” which hijacks a users Windows OS in order to extort money. The malware, which Panda says most likely comes in through spam or p2p files, restarts the system once it has found a way in. It then displays a screen before [...]
June 16, 2011
Virgin Media warns customers of SpyEye infection
by Jan HarrisVirgin Media is writing to customers whose computer has been infected with the SpyEye Trojan, advising them on how to get rid of the malware. The cable company is working with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) to protect its broadband customers against the Trojan, which can steal personal and banking data from an infected [...]
May 17, 2011
Microsoft identifies Alureon variant
by Jan HarrisAlureon, a trojan and bootkit which was particularly prevalent this time last year, has reared its head again, with a new version being identified by researchers from Microsoft. The latest incarnation of the malware is designed to avoid detection by anti-virus software. However the evasion algorithm it uses includes unusual encryption and decryption routines which [...]
February 28, 2011
Backdoor Trojan targets Mac OS X
by Jan HarrisSophos is warning Mac OS X users to beware of a backdoor Trojan that is currently doing the rounds in beta. The emergence of the malware has prompted Chester Wisniewski, a security advisor at Sophos Canada, to warn of a new trend for hackers to focus on the increasingly popular Mac computers, which are traditionally [...]
August 9, 2010
Auto-updates For Firefox 4
by Jan HarrisMozilla has announced that auto-updates will be available for the latest version of its Firefox browser, which was released in beta last month Users of the Windows version of Firefox 4 will be able to switch the auto-update feature off if they wish, but Mozilla will then inform them when a vital patch is necessary. [...]
June 16, 2010
XP flaw now under attack
by Jan HarrisSophos has reported that a security flaw in Windows XP’s Help and Support Centre, revealed last week by a Google engineer, is now under attack. The engineer, Tavis Ormandy, revealed the flaw only five days after reporting it to Microsoft, in an effort to get Microsoft to resolve it quicker. The ploy now seems to [...]
April 15, 2010
BitDefender warns about iPhone unlocking malware
by Darren AllanThose of you with an iPhone who might be considering unlocking it to run third-party applications should take heed of a new malware warning. BitDefender has issued an advisory about a scam email which offers a link to a new version of an iPhone jailbreaking program. Users are told to connect their iPhone to their [...]