Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Whenever an Internet security company issues a report or study about the state of Internet security, your first reaction should focus on checking the security of your wallet. Fear became a big part of the marketing plans for security companies ever since the Melissa and I Love You viruses hit around the turn of the new century; Sept. 11th cemented the sales game plan by adding cyberterrorism concerns to the mix.

Tech journalists have to balance that cynicism with the need to pass along information that helps promote safe Internet practices for businesses and consumers. Companies who have been in this space for a long time and spend a lot of money searching for bad software usually get a long look, as McAfee should with its new report, “Mapping the Mal Web Revisited.” The headline for the associated press release says it all: “McAfee Inc. Names Most Dangerous Domains to Surf and Search On the Web.”

McAfee used its own SiteAdvisor software (of course) to investigate the security of global web domain names and found that Hong Kong (.hk) and China (.cn) websites give you the best chance of picking up unwanted spyware, browser exploits, viruses and other forms of malicious code. This casts a potential cloud on all that Western investment money now streaming to China, not to mention the flood of visitors expected this summer for the Beijing Olympics.

The safest country domain to search and surf? Finland (.fi).

McAfee says your chances of picking up malware from websurfing increased 41 percent year-over-year. Picking up a nasty dose of bad code simply by downloading ringtones or screensavers also went up from 2007. As always, kids, consider the source, whether it’s a ringtone or an Internet security study.

Read [McAfee Inc. ]

AVG announced that their Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 is now available for download. This free edition combines an anti-virus and anti-spyware engine to protect users machines against spyware attacks aside from the usual viruses that threaten your computer on a daily basis. The software also provides real-time searching protection with AVG’s LinkScanner technology which was incorporated into the new AVG Security Toolbar.

An English version of the Anti-virus software will be released first, to be followed by other language versions over the next few months. The software can be freely downloaded and used only on single computers which are running on Windows 2000, XP or Vista. 

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According to Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report for July through December 2007, web attacks are on the rise.

With more users becoming cautious about downloading and opening email attachments, hackers are now looking for new ways to “trick” users into downloading malware.  The most popular attack is the embedding of malware into websites, especially through banner advertisements. In fact, adware has increased by 66 percent. The most common type of malware removed by Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) are Trojan horses, which disguise themselves as innocent software but contain hidden malicious code within—which can be used to create a back door or collect personal information, for example. Microsoft reports that the number of Trojan horses has exploded by 300 percent during the second half of 2007. In all, the software giant says that the number of malicious software removed by its MSRT has increased by 40 percent. Another attack gaining popularity is phishing, which is the act of tricking users into visiting a legitimate looking website and entering their personal information (e.g., social security and credit card numbers), only to have it stolen and/or sold to a third party. 

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So you think you’re safe? You think you can just carry on doing what you do in your life without thinking you’re in danger? Don’t you have any idea what’s going on behind the scenes when your computer automatically reboots, crashes, keeps sending your contacts suspicious emails or links to kiddie porn? If you do, then you wouldn’t have been here reading this. No, instead you would’ve been in a state of shock, like the rest of us who are in the know. Instead, you would’ve been curled up in bed, wondering how you managed to last so long without seeing the “real picture”. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, just take a look at the photo above. See that? Know what that is? That’s what’s been eating up all of your computer’s resources lately. That’s the thing that keeps on destroying network after network and connection after connection, all without you even noticing. That, my friend, is a picture of computer malware. And if you look closely, if you could only try to look straight into its eyes, then maybe you’ll understand why I’m so tense right now.

Keep on reading for a few more renderings care of a wicked visualization program called Malwarez…

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Trend Micro is reporting that within hours of the news that popular actor Heath Ledger had been found dead in his New York apartment, several malware sites appeared at the top of search listings for the words “heath” and “ledger”. Users visiting these sites are redirected to another site, which prompts them to download an ActiveX “update”. The update is fake and instead begins a series of malware downloads. Researchers believe this latest malware attack is related to the suspected hacking of a Czech ISP’s servers. This isn’t the first time cyber criminals have used newsworthy events to spread their malware. Last month’s assassination of Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto also spawned a flood of malware sites. The criminals have caught on to using events people are likely to do searches on and then use Search Engine Optimization to get their malicious sites at the top of search results.

Read [TrendMicro]

The LG Vaccine USB Flash Drive won’t help to quell the symptoms of the flu, but it will make its users very happy with its offering of antivirus and malware protection software. When flash drives first came out a number of years ago, everyone was amazed at how much could be shoved into such a small package. But now the rush is on for manufacturers to offer new and more enticing features in the hopes that their particular drives will glean the most sales.

The LG Vaccine USB Flash Drive is certainly capable of storing vital documents and photos, but while plugged into your computer it also provides certain security measures because it comes equipped with its own antivirus and malware protection software. These programs provide “real-time system monitoring and hardware scans.”

The LG Vaccine can really make a difference when dealing with a public terminal. It insures that all of the files stored on the drive will remain safe and private. It also offers a biometric fingerprint reader for extra security. This flash drive will be offered in capacities ranging from 512MB to 8GB, no word yet on pricing or release date.

Read [Mobile Mag]

Microsoft’s Windows Vista security looks tighter than ever. It contains a number of new security features that, taken together, are designed to make Windows Vista-based PCs more secure and your online experiences safer. The improvements are designed to help you have:

• Protection from viruses, worms, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software.


• Stronger Parental locking system.


• An understanding of when your PC is unsafe, and the control and guidance to help improve your security. Means windows automatically detect and upgrade to fight security holes. An early warning will be also given to use on upcoming instability.

User account control

It remain almost same as Windows XP SP2 but additionally Vista giving you the ability to decide if certain potentially dangerous software is allowed to make changes to your computer. It works with Windows Defender and Internet Explorer to help reduce the impact of viruses, spyware, and other threats. With User Account Control and the new Parental Controls in Windows Vista, you can easily create a separate account for each member of the family and control which websites, programs, and games each person can use and install. This helps protect your family and keeps your computer running smoothly. In Vista’s RC1 test I found that if the parental lock is on, certain games will install but won’t run, the screens remain blank. For web address containing adult media, it doesn’t even allow access, straight locked out. This seems to be a very good parental lock system—good for family used PC’s.

Malware protection

Microsoft introduces layer security features to fight Malware, viruses, Trojan, spyware etc. Windows Vista contains many security features that help prevent malware from installing, and that help find and remove malware if it has already been installed.

Security alerts enable you to quickly resolve potentially damaging issues that can harm your Windows Vista PC. Three rough and tough tools come into light for protection:

• Windows Vista firewall. As I have seen it in action in Vista RC1 testing its looks stronger and not annoying.


• Windows Defender, you will love this one. Superior Spyware protection plus not even a single file will be copied or install in your pc without your concern. It checks the digital signature of the file.


• Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT), delivered through Automatic Updates, periodically scans your PC looking for known prevalent viruses. Till 3^rd October,2006 in my Vista RC1 testing its holding some more virus than popular virus software.

A few other important issue

Though in Microsoft’s web site they declared that you may use other security and virus software who are Microsoft’s partners, like-MacAfee and Norton, anti-virus companies have raised issues about Vista’s core accessibility. Vista does not give core access to any software, even its partner programs like Norton’s software. So it will be most likely that you can’t use any other antivirus programs with Vista upon launch (but I doubt that will last for long). Since Microsoft is introducing those security features for the first time, it will be very reasonable to doubt their ability to fight malware/viruses. Though this step of Microsoft is criticized as abomination attempt, the EU has yet to decide if Vista will be available for EU users on January, 2007 for this issue.

I have just got word on VISTA RC2 is available for testing. I am hoping some additional interesting features will pop up.

Source [Windows Vista]