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The TechSpot blog reports that a banner ad running on MySpace.com and other Web sites used a Windows security flaw to push adware and spyware out to more than one million computer users this week. The attack leveraged the Windows Metafile (WMF) exploit to install programs in the PurityScan/ClickSpring family of adware, which bombards the user with pop-up ads and tracks their Web usage."

Myspace Users Hit with Adware via Windows Metafile (WMF) Exploit source

Corporate PC users just love to download applications and this will cause a problems for Corporate System Admins when they are left unpatched since they could pose a security Vulnerability.

Bit9, a Cambridge USA based security company has identified 15 popular applications it claims have well known vulnerabilities that pose a threat to enterprises and I'm also guilty of using 2 of them in my office PC. The five applications that top Bit9's compiled list include Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7, Apple iTunes 6.02 and QuickTime 7.0.3, Skype 1.4, Adobe Acrobat 7.04/6.03, and Sun Java Run-Time Environment 5.0 update 3 and 1.4.2_6.


"These popular software applications are frequently downloaded to corporate desktops and can present serious risks for enterprise computing environments," said Todd Brennan, the co-founder and chief technology officer at Bit9, in a statement.

"Understanding what software is actually running in your organization across your entire desktop environment is the first step in regaining application control and protecting your corporate infrastructure."

"These popular software applications are frequently downloaded to corporate desktops and can present serious risks for enterprise computing environments," said Dr. Todd Brennan, co-founder and CTO at Bit9.

This tool from AOL is pretty useful if you want to do a comprehensive check on your PCs security health and its sort of like a free Security Advisor . - AOL Active Security Monitor

AOL is letting users test a new security tool that analyzes their PCs and home networks and alerts them about gaps that could leave them vulnerable to viruses, worms, spyware and other threats.

AOL developed Active Security Monitor (ASM) because to properly protect a PC, users need to install, configure and maintain a variety of software programs, such as firewalls, anti-virus and anti-spyware applications, and it can be complicated to keep track of all of them. "If you don't have the right programs installed and correctly configured, your system is vulnerable to attack.

Update :

Here's a screenshot of the AOL ASM below. I've just installed it and I have Safety Score of 90 on my laptop.

The Microsoft Windows Live OneCare is now officially live though they should have come up with some Online Backup Service to complement it. Microsoft Windows Live OneCare will market for an annual subscription fee of $49.95 for use on up to three PCs.

Entering the security software market for the first time, Microsoft has offically released Windows Live OneCare in the US market. OneCare includes firewall, antivirus, antispyware, and backup software, and integrates seamless with the Windows system, handling routine tasks like defragmentation and cleaning up unused files.

Some Microsoft Windows Live OneCare services:

* Protection Plus, with its antivirus and antispyware scanners and managed, two-way firewall, helps protect your computer from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, hackers, and other threats. It runs continuously in the background, but you can scan individual files and folders for viruses on demand simply by right-clicking them. You can even scan attachments you receive via Windows Live Messenger or MSN Messenger.

* Performance Plus regularly defragments your hard disk, removes any unnecessary files that can clog your PC, and helps make sure important security updates from Microsoft are installed efficiently and on time.

* Backup and Restore regularly copies your important files and settings to CD, DVD, or external hard disk.

* Instant Support provides online help anytime you need it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Source

Microsoft will complete its entry into the desktop security market next week with the general release of its Windows Live OneCare antivirus software.

OneCare, which also includes backup and PC-tuning software, has been available free in beta form since November, but as of next Thursday customers will be able to purchase the final, supported product, according to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans.

OneCare will cost $49.95 per year, which will cover licenses for as many as three Windows XP PCs. That means "98 percent of homes in the will be able to buy one subscription and be able to cover all of their PCs," Microsoft Group Program Manager Brian Hall said earlier this year.

A spokesperson for Microsoft's public relations agency declined to comment for this story except to confirm the product would be available for purchase from the Web and in retail stores in the next few weeks.

OneCare includes firewall, antivirus, and backup software, as well as Microsoft's Windows Defender antispyware technology. The product also takes care of routine maintenance tasks such as defragmenting the hard disk and cleaning up unused temporary files. Wonder how it does the defragmentation as doing it while someone is playing games slows the PC down.

Spammers will try to do anything to get you to click on their links. My wife's boss recently downloaded a free anti-spyware on the internet and it basically brought his PC down. So don't believe everything you read and verify everything you read on the Net 10 times to make sure its true.

Sophos is calling on the internet faithful to be wary of an unsolicited email campaign offering a free copy of the "The Da Vinci Code". Through investigations into shadowy secret societies, Sophos uncovered the email which invites recipients to join a book club and claiming to offer a free copy of Dan Brown’s "The Da Vinci Code" as an incentive.

Sophos said the email calls on people to ‘Read the novel everyone's STILL talking about’ and to ‘Get the Da Vinci Code free, plus five more bestsellers for 99 cents’. Graham Cluey, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said "people should be careful of unsolicited emails like this and remember the old adage that there's no such thing as a free lunch."

Da Vinci Code spam coming soon to your Inbox source

Today you need to remember tons of passwords. You need a password for your office Windows/Linux network logon, your e-mail account, your homepage's ftp password, online passwords (like CodeProject member account), etc. etc. etc. The list is endless like the Great Wall of China. Also, you should use different passwords for each account. Because if you use only one password everywhere and someone gets this password you have a problem... A serious problem. The thief would have access to your e-mail account, homepage, etc. Unimaginable. You might want to get a Biometric thumbprint reader but figure the price is not affordable enough.

KeePass Password Safe is a free/open-source password safe or manager which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key-disk. So you only have to remember one single master password or insert the key-disk to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish).

Download KeePass Password Safe 1.05 site

I've been using the Microsoft Anti-Spyware (now called Windows Defender) for quite some time now since its been free and I've not even thought of summing up any money to get another product since its been pretty good at keeping my laptop up and running. However, the new extra security features in Microsoft's upcoming Vista operating system could affect the business of smaller security firms, according to a new report by the Yankee Group.

The report, from the Yankee Group, suggests that as Microsoft users get a welcome security boost when the new Vista operating system is finally available, aftermarkets for anti-spyware and desktop firewall applications will be hit dramatically.

However, it is not all bad news for smaller security firms, as antivirus vendors are expected to be safe from Microsoft's new security applications. Coupled with Microsoft's record for security flaws in its software, it is likely that third-party antivirus vendors will still be kept quite busy, as the software giant has a lot of ground to make up with consumers.

Microsoft Vista to put small Security Firms out of Business

PandaLabs has warned users of two vulnerabilities that have been corrected by Microsoft. The first, as reported in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-011, corrects an error that could allow an attacker to gain control of the affected system. An attacker could therefore, install programs with serious consequences or carry out any task without the user realizing.

The systems affected are Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (also the version for Itanium systems).

The second update, reported in the bulletin MS06-012, corrects a similar error to the aforementioned error, as it could also allow an attacker to gain control of the system, if users log on as the system administrator.

It's quite usual to see worms and spyware on Windows systems but having them on the Mac OS X is something pretty unusual since its basically a Unix based system that's secure. A second worm attacking the Mac OS X system has been discovered over the weekend and basically, the OSX/Inqtana-A worm spreads between Apple Mac computers via a Bluetooth vulnerability. The new worm has appeared within days of the discovery of OSX/Leap-A, the first virus for Mac OS X.

Antivirus company Sophos says the first "real virus" that targets Apple's Mac OS X operating system has been spotted online, reports Forbes. Appropriately enough, it was a type of virus called a worm. A Mac rumors website first reported a sighting on Feb. 13, in the form of a file called latestpics.tgz, supposedly consisting of screenshots of the Leopard Mac OS X 10.5; however, despite displaying a JPEG icon when click on, it was an executable file.

The Inqtana worm, which may start at boot up, attempts to discover Bluetooth devices that will accept a file via the OBEX Push service (typically requiring user intervention). It exploits a vulnerability known as CAN-2005-1333 to spread itself to other vulnerable Mac OS X computers.

PandaLabs, a developer of virus and intrusion prevention solutions has detected the appearance of Spymaster.A, a Trojan designed to steal all types of information from computers. It combines spyware and keylogger characteristics, enabling it to capture everything from information about users' Internet usage to user names and passwords entered for services such as online banking and email systems. Moreover, it’s disguising itself as the MSN Messenger application so that users remain unaware of its dangerous presence on their systems. Social engineering features are now becoming prevalent on malware and soon they might even grow faces like your family members.

 

According to Luis Corrons, director of PandaLabs: "Keylogger Trojans are usually used by cyber-crooks to steal confidential information for fraudulent purposes. Given that, nowadays, financial gain is the main motivation for the creators of malicious code, it is almost certain that more examples will appear, and that they will be increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect. The way that Spymaster.A hides the process in memory is a good example of this."