Articles about Anti-Virus
Google guru blasts Android virus doomsayers as 'charlatans'
Google's open-source program manager has launched an entertaining rant against firms offering mobile security software, accusing them of selling worthless software and of being "charlatans and scammers".
Chris DiBona, Google's open-source programs manager, argues that neither smartphones based on Google's Android nor Apple's iOS …
Give us a week to GUT Superfish, begs Lenovo CTO
Lenovo's chief technology officer Peter Hortensius has issued another statement on how the company plans to handle Superfish.
The missive explains that Lenovo has worked with anti-virus vendors to get their products flattening Superfish whenever a PC starts up and issued a removal tool.
Hortensius says Lenovo is now “in the …
Windows Registry-infecting malware has no files, survives reboots
Researchers have detailed a rare form of Windows malware that maintains infection on machines and steals data without installing files.
The malware resides in the computer registry only and is therefore not easy to detect.
It code reaches machines through a malicious Microsoft Word document before creating a hidden encoded …
50 shades of grey can turn Adobe Reader into a hot mess
Hackers can duck antivirus programs and execute malware in Adobe Reader by using greyscale images, says Danish security boffin Dénes Óvári.
Lossy compression is thought to be susceptible to the DCTDecode filter, which should nuke malware woven into images and blunt this form of attack.
However new intelligence published in the …
Aaah-CHOOO! Brit boffins say WiFi can 'sneeze' malware
While the "head cold" metaphor is a bit laboured, the issue is genuine: a group of researchers from the University of Liverpool have found that WiFi access points are highly efficient at passing around virus infections.
Likening the spread of computer viruses over WiFi as akin to the spread of human viruses in the air, the …
Attackers raid SWISS BANKS with DNS and malware bombs
Attackers suspected of residing in Russia are raiding Swiss bank accounts with a multi-faceted attack that intercepts SMS tokens and changes domain name system settings, researchers have warned.
The attacks sported a clever implementation of malware that pointed victim machines to replica phishing bank sites when they attempt to …
Sourcefire jumps into anti-malware market
Sourcefire, the security biz behind the commercial versions of the open-source Snort intrusion-detection software, is bowling itself at enterprises and touting tech designed to quickly detect and block malware outbreaks.
FireAMP offers a malware discovery and analysis tool that offers visibility of threats and outbreak control. …
Sophos punts anti-virus for Klingons
Sophos is now offering anti-virus protection for Klingon speakers.
According to the company, you can use Klingon Anti-Virus from Sophos to "quickly perform an on-demand scan and find viruses, spyware, adware, zero-day threats, Betazoid sub-ether porn diallers, and Tribbles that your existing protection might have missed."
But …
158 new malware created EVERY MINUTE
Malware monitors PandaLabs says 227,747 new malware samples are released every day.
The findings from its recent survey found 20 million samples were created in the third quarter of 2014.
Three quarters of infections were trojans while only 9 percent were viruses and 4 percent worms.
The number of trojans rose 13 percent over …
Kaspersky warns of IMPOSTER mobile security apps
Security firm Kaspersky Lab is warning users following the discovery of a set of mobile malware apps that impersonate its products.
The firm said that unknown malware writers have been crafting applications that bill themselves as being Kaspersky products but instead infect devices or simply fail to do much of anything once …
Fourth anti-virus firm buys into behavioural blocking
Web and email security firm Marshal8e6 has bought behaviour-based malware detection specialist Avinti. The terms of the deal, announced Tuesday, were undisclosed.
Marshal8e6 said the deal would allow it to offer its customers improved protection against blended threats, emails that attempt to trick recipients into visiting sites …
VXer fighters get new stealth weapon in war of the (mal)wares
A bare-metal analysis tool developed by University of California researchers promises to help tip the battle between virus writers and black hats by cloaking malware investigation efforts.
The tool is the latest weapon in the war between the diaspora of independent and vendor malware researchers and their VXer foes. Their …
Apple tells Mac users: Get anti-virus
For the first time, Apple is recommending the use of anti-virus tools to protect Mac systems.
Long something of a phantom menace, strains of malware capable of infecting Mac machines have gradually been increasing in prevalence over recent months. In addition, VXers are making more use of web-based attack and applications …
IEEE expands malware initiatives
Standards body the IEEE has launched two new anti-malware initiatives designed to help software and security vendors spot malware that's been inserted into other software, and improve the performance of malware detection by cutting down on false positives.
The organisation's Anti-Malware Support Service (AMSS) is designed to …
Top vendors flunk Vista anti-virus tests
Security vendors including CA and Symantec failed to secure Windows systems without fault in recent independent tests.
Twelve of the 35 anti-virus products put through their paces by independent security certification body Virus Bulletin failed to make the grade for one reason or another and therefore failed to achieve the VB100 …
Leaked docs reveal power of malware-for-government product 'FinFisher'
A string of documents detailing the operations and effectiveness of the FinFisher suite of surveillance platforms appears to have been leaked.
The documents, some dated 4 April this year, detail the anti-virus detection rates of the FinFisher spyware which German based Gamma Group sold to governments and law enforcement agencies …
Attackers planting banking Trojans in industrial systems
Trend Micro researcher Kyle Wilhoit says the latest attacks on SCADA and industrial control networks are turning out to carry rather pedestrian banking Trojans, and have been on the rise since October 2014.
Talking to DarkReading, Wilhoit said rather than Stuxnet-style attacks, ne'er-do-wells are dropping banking Trojans into …
Panic like it's 1999: Microsoft Office macro viruses are BACK
Macro viruses involving infected Word and Excel files were a plague in the late 1990s. Yet, like grunge music, the genre fell into decline as techniques and technologies moved on. More recently macro viruses have staged something of a revival, thanks to social-engineering trickery.
Windows executable malware has dominated macro …
Looking for code work? Write fake anti-virus scripts
Updated
A scareware purveyor has brazenly advertised for recruits on a mainstream job market website.
A job ad on Freelancer.com offers work for a coder prepared to turn his hand to the creation of fake anti-virus website redirection scripts. However, prospective applicants are warned not to expect a big payday - the budget for the …
Free anti-virus scanner hits the cloud
Avira has added cloud technology to the latest version of its popular freebie anti-virus scanner.
Version 10 of Avira AntiVir, released on Tuesday, adds cloud-based detection to a free-of-charge security scanner that competes with similar products offered by (Czech-firm ALWIL's) Avast and AVG.
All three firms aim to move …
VirusTotal mess means YOU TOO can track Comment Crew!
Security researcher Brandon Dixon has used Google's VirusTotal malware analysis tool to spy on what he claims are state-sponsored Chinese and Iranian elite hacking crews.
Dixon (@9bplus) used the paid version of VirusTotal to watch as a subgroup of the Chinese hacker group Comment Crew and an unnamed Iranian mob developed, …
Pizza stores popped, sandwich stores sacked in PoS plunder
Some 324 restaurants across the United States, including 216 Jimmy John's outlets, have had payment terminals compromised by malware after a breach at vendor Signature Systems.
The massive breach occurred when an intruder stole remote log-in credentials for Signature's point of sale (PoS) kit, according to cyber-crime reporter …
The 30-year-old prank that became the first computer virus
To the author of Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to be released outside of the lab, it’s sad that, 30 years after the self-replicating code's appearance, the industry has yet to come up with a secure operating system.
When Rich Skrenta, created Elk Cloner as a prank in February 1982, he was a 15-year-old high school …
iPad anti-virus shield guards against phantom threat
Mac security specialist Intego has begun offering the first antivirus scanner capable of inspecting Apple's much-hyped iPad, despite the questionable need for security scans on the device.
The iPad, which Apple began selling in the US last weekend, runs on the same operating system as the iPhone. Only jailbroken iPhones with …
Antivirus firm Avast! takes down forums after breach
Antivirus firm Avast! has 'fessed up to a breach.
The small upside is that the mess only impacts the company's forums. As the company's CEO Vincent Steckler has blogged “Less than 0.2% of our 200 million users were affected. No payment, license, or financial systems or other data was compromised.”
Don't click away to another …
Rovnix Trojan infection outbreak infects 130,000 machines in Blighty
A new cluster of infections by the Rovnix Trojan has infected more than 130,000 Windows computers in the UK alone.
The data-stealing malware is also affecting Germany, Italy, the US and Iran to a far lesser extent - 87 per cent of the computers infected are actually in the UK, according to anti-virus firm Bitdefender.
Rovnix is …
Freebie Android anti-malware scanners flunk tests
Many free-of-charge antivirus products fail to protect Android smartphone against malware effectively, leaving users with a false sense of security as a result.
Tests by antivirus testing lab AV-Test.org revealed that the best freebie Android anti-virus scanner, Zoner Antivirus, caught 32 per cent of 160 recent Android threats. …
By the way, Home Depot hackers also grabbed 53 million email addresses
Hackers made off with a whopping 53 million email addresses as part of the high profile April breach of Home Depot in which 56 million credit cards were compromised, the company says.
The haul bagged enough email addresses to contact everyone in England, but it was unknown if the information had been implicated in further …
Citrix reveals product design methodology, asks YOU to use it
Citrix has revealed the internal process it uses to define new products, and wants you to have a go at using it to suggest the next versions of XenDesktop and XenApp.
Detailed here and here, the company explains it gives its developers a hypothetical budget for features in a forthcoming product, then suggests they Spend the $100 …
MAC BOTNET uses REDDIT comments for directions
A zombie network that feasts on the computer brains of infected Macs has press-ganged 17,000 compromised machines into its ranks, Russian anti-virus firm Dr Web warns.
The iWorm creates a backdoor on machines running OS X. Miscreants are using messages posted on Reddit as a navigational aid which points infected machines towards …
Early result from Scots indyref vote? NAW, Jimmy - it's a SCAM
Web users have been warned to be wary of fake results messages about the Scottish Independence referendum.
The warning from UK.gov-backed Get Safe Online comes hours after the polling booths opened north in the border in a history-making vote that will determine Scotland's fate.
Unlike a political election, there will not be …
Trend, Sophos and McAfee flunk Vista SP1 anti-virus tests
Top tier anti-virus vendors including McAfee, Trend Micro, and Sophos all failed to secure Windows Vista SP1 in recent independent tests.
Virus Bulletin, the independent security certification body, said 17 of 37 anti-virus products tested failed to reach the VB100 certification standard. McAfee VirusScan, Trend Micro Internet …
Facebook scuttles 250k-strong crypto-currency botnet
Facebook has taken down a Greek botnet that at its peak compromised 50,000 accounts and infected 250,000 computers to mine crypto-currencies, steal email and banking details and pump out spam.
The scuttled Lecpetex botnet spread malware including the DarkComet remote access trojan by social engineering techniques and was adept …
Spammer sprung to run Russian national payment system
Russia has reportedly hired a man to develop its national payments system, days after the alleged mastermind of one of the country's biggest pharmacy spam networks was granted early parole.
The criminal allegations following Pavel Vrublevsky were prodigious but were largely denied or unconfirmed by the 35 year-old Moscow native …
Hackers-for-hire raided 300 banks, corporates for TWELVE YEARS
A band of hackers for hire have raided some 300 banks, corporations and governments undetected for 12 years, possibly the longest campaign of its kind.
The German hackers registered 800 front businesses in the UK to target and fully compromise organisations in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria at the request of customers.
Elite …
Charge Anywhere? More like Hacked Everywhere: Mobe cash biz admits 5-year security breach
Mobile payments biz Charge Anywhere has admitted a hacker may have been snooping on its systems for FIVE years.
While probing an internal malware infection, Charge Anywhere discovered someone has been able to eavesdrop on its network traffic since November 2009.
That investigation revealed all sorts of sensitive data had been …
AVG stung as search revenue from freebie scanners dries up
Security software firm AVG net income has fallen from $24.7m in Q2 2013 to $13.7mn in Q2 2014, according to financial results out Wednesday.
The profits slide is explained by the slip in revenue from $100.4m in Q2 2013 to $88m in the three months running up to 30 June 2014. AVG responded to the results by revising its outlook …
Facebook flashes its One Tool To Rule Them All in security threat analysis
Facebook has bragged about a new internal tool that combines all sorts of live data on internet security threats – such as any new malware doing the rounds and known dodgy URLS.
The social network's engineers said the utility, imaginatively dubbed ThreatData, collects software nasties shared by researchers and also throws in …
Apple anti-virus advice was nothing new
One of the more famous Get a Mac ads boasted that Apple systems, unlike Windows boxes, didn't need anti-virus software. So when an article on an Apple support site encouraged the use of anti-virus software on Macs it seemed like news. In truth the article reiterated long-standing, though little publicised, advice from Apple. …
Flaw in MS anti-malware engine poses command override risk
Microsoft has updated its malware protection technology following the discovery of a bug which might, given a plausible but unlikely set of circumstances, allow a hacker to gain root access to vulnerable systems.
Would-be hackers would already need to have access to targeted systems in order to exploit the privilege escalation …
Hackers seed malware on Indian anti-virus site
Hackers planted malicious script on the site of an Indian anti-virus firm this week. The website of AVsoft Technologies was attacked by unidentified miscreants in order to distribute a variant of the Virut virus.
AVsoft Technologies makes the SmartCOP antivirus package. One of the download pages of the site was boobytrapped with …
So which miscreants wrote the CosmicDuke info-slurping nasty?
Security researchers have uncovered a link between a Trojan and a recently discovered cyber-espionage tool which suggests cyber-spies behind recent attacks on Western governments cut their teeth writing conventional Trojans.
CosmicDuke combines elements from the Cosmu Trojan and a backdoor known as MiniDuke, previously …
Mac security packages range from peachy to rancid – antivirus tests
Updated
Independent tests of Mac antivirus products have discovered that the effectiveness of these security packages runs from a risible 20 per cent to an unimpeachable 100 per cent.
German security lab AV-TEST.org put 18 free and paid-for Mac OS X security products and services to the test, discovering widely differing performances in …
Did you swipe your card through one of these UPS Store tills? You may have been pwned
UPS has discovered an outbreak of debit and credit-card-reading malware in 51 of its branches in the US.
Exactly which strain of malware was involved is not known; a spokesperson told The Register today: "We're still investigating the infection." It's hoped the identity of the malware will be revealed once that probe is complete …
Microsoft's OneCare flunks anti-virus test
Microsoft's Live OneCare placed last in a test on the effectiveness of anti-virus security packages by Austrian researchers.
AV Comparatives put 17 security packages through their paces to see how well they recognised a battery of nearly half a million items of malware.
Winner G Data Security's AntiVirusKit (AVK) identified …
Microsoft launches anti-virus public beta
Microsoft has released a free beta of its upcoming anti-virus application.
According to Microsoft, the new anti-virus application known as Windows OneCare Live consumer beta is "like taking your PC in for a tune up at the service station". The release is part of the forthcoming Windows OneCare set of deliverables, and yesterday …
Twitter hit with rogue anti-virus scam
Twitter users over the weekend were the target of a scam that tried to infect them with rogue anti-virus software and other malware, in what is one of the first times the micro-blogging site has been hit by a known for-profit attack, a security researcher said.
The problem started after a flurry of tweets directed users to a …
Dropbox used as command and control for Taiwan time bomb
A remote access trojan (RAT) is using Dropbox for command and control in a targeted attack against the Taiwanese Government, malware analyst Maersk Menrige says.
The upgraded PlugX RAT is the first targeted attack to use Dropbox to update command and control settings, Menrige said, as distinct from other malware and ransomware …
Swayze death exploited to serve up fake anti-virus
Miscreants have moved swiftly to establish malicious websites designed to rip off users searching for more information on the death of actor Patrick Swayze on Monday.
Black-hat search engine manipulation means that many sites that appear prominently in search engine results point to sites slinging fake anti-virus scanners. …
Poison PDF pusher released to public
Attacking enterprises just got easier with the development of an idiot-friendly tool that spits out booby-trapped PDFs with a few clicks.
The tool weaves existing exploits into PDFs, allowing attacks against Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 8.x prior to 8.2.1 and 9.x before 9.3.1.
Users can insert their own URL pointers into …
