Security and spyware

Renewed efforts to revert DNSChanger in effect

One of the more widespread malware attacks that has affected Macs, Windows-based PC systems, and even network hardware such as routers is the DNSChanger Trojan, which has also been known as "RSPlug," "Puper," and "Jahlav."

This Trojan was first discovered in 2007, and was able to infect millions of PC systems worldwide. It remained active until 2011 when an FBI sting called Operation Ghost Click resulted in the arrest of an Estonian crime ring and seizure of the rogue DNS network used to maintain the attack.

The DNSChanger malware worked by setting up a … Read more

China clamps down on Sina Weibo as censorship abounds

China has once again taken aim at Web users who have allegedly spread political rumors across the Internet.

Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo yesterday announced to its user base that it had banned several accounts for engaging in rumor mongering. The move came about a month after Li Delin, a senior editor for Chinese magazine Capital Week, wrote on Sina Weibo that he saw an inordinate number of military vehicles and plainclothes police in Beijing. The message sparked rumors of a possible coup.

"Recently, criminal elements have used Sina Weibo to create and spread malicious political rumors online for … Read more

Avast ports Windows shields to Mac

Avast will introduce the latest version of its Mac security suite as early as tomorrow, just a few weeks after Flashback, the third major OS X security scare in a year.

The company touts an unblemished record of blocking the virulent malware as evidence that its suite is a must-have.

Currently available from Download.com in beta, Avast Free Antivirus 7 for Mac (download) brings to the Mac several features that have made the Windows version one of the best free security suites. Along with an up-to-date version of the Avast antivirus and anti-malware engine and a redone interface, it … Read more

Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 ready for download

Microsoft today made available for download a new release of its free anti-virus/anti-malware program for Windows PCs, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE).

The MSE 4.0 release is available via the Microsoft Download Center and the MSE Web site. (I learned of its availability from a post on Neowin today.) The latest version runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

The 4.0 version has been in beta since late 2011. As ZDNet sister site TechRepublic reported back in December 2011, Microsoft officials said the 4.0 release would include a streamlined interface; a renamed version of the … Read more

Lookout inks deal with Deutsche Telekom

San Francisco-based Lookout Mobile Security and European telecommunications behemoth Deutsche Telekom announced today that they have entered into a partnership that representatives say will offer significant benefits to both companies.

"Deutsche Telekom is very good at network-side distribution, while we're very good at software and innovating," Lookout CEO John Hering told CNET explaining the collaboration.

Heikki Makijarvi, senior vice president of business development at Deutsche Telekom, also expected good things to come from the partnership. "There is a major demand for security and privacy in Germany and European market. It's probably one of the best … Read more

Luxembourg CIRC develops LaunchAgent monitoring tool for OS X

LaunchAgent scripts in OS X can be used to automatically run programs and scripts and are a common route that malware developers use to run their malware in OS X once either the system is exploited or the user has been fooled into installing malware.

Because of this, I recently wrote a procedure for how OS X users can set up notifications that warn whenever changes are made to the various LaunchAgent folders and thereby help detect such attacks, which have been used in some recent and notable malware scams in OS X including DNSChanger, MacDefender, and the most recent … Read more

How to delete yourself from the Internet

The Internet companies that power your online life know that data equals money, and they're becoming bolder about using that data to track you. If they get their way, your every online step would be not only irrevocable, but traceable back to you. Fortunately, there are some positive steps you can take to reclaim your online history for yourself.

The online privacy software company Abine, which makes Do Not Track Plus, also offers a service called DeleteMe, which removes your data from numerous tracking sites and keeps it from coming back. In an unusual gesture, though, they've made … Read more

Checking for the new SabPub malware in OS X

Recently the Flashback malware attacks on OS X gained headlines, not because of the presence of the Trojan, which had been around for some months prior to the increase in attention, but rather because it gained the possibility of installation in a drive-by-download attack that did not require any interaction from the user in order to install.

This development was made possible because of a vulnerability in Java that allowed for a maliciously crafted applet to break the Java sandbox and write files to the disk. Apple has since patched this issue and it, along with other companies, have released … Read more

PlayStation Network going down this morning -- for maintenance

Sony says its PlayStation Network will be down today, but those who suffered through last year's security breach should know it's only maintenance this time around.

Sony senior manager for the PlayStation Digital Platforms, Matthew Harper, announced on his company's blog yesterday that the gaming and digital media network will be taken down at 6 a.m. PT today and will stay offline for about 13 hours, or until 7 p.m. PT. During that period, the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, and online gaming will not be available.

Sony's timing on the outage is somewhat curious. … Read more

New Mac OS X Trojan unearthed. Call it SabPub

Here we go again.

Kaspersky Lab security researcher Costin Raiu has discovered another Mac OS X Trojan. Dubbed Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a (or just SabPub, for short), the malware uses Java exploits to infect a Mac, connect to a remote Web site, and wait for instructions that include taking screenshots of the user's Mac and executing commands.

"The Java exploits appear to be pretty standard, however, (and) they have been obfuscated using ZelixKlassMaster, a flexible and quite powerful Java obfuscator," Raiu wrote on the Securelist blog. "This was obviously done in order to avoid detection from … Read more