Items tagged with Malware
When we usually think of traditional computer viruses, we think of software that is meant to harm machines, turn them into mindless drones that do the bidding of their new master, or exploit the rightful owner’s personal data. However, Symantec recently shed some new light on a virus — first discovered in 2014 — that...
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Apple might have one of the most secure app stores on the planet, but as with all things secure, someone is bound to find a hole and waltz right on in. Such is the case with whomever modified Apple's official coding software Xcode to bundle malware with any app compiled with it. That sounds simple, but despite the...
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Ransomware is one of the most sickening types of malware out there, and one enterprising person (or group) has managed to take things to a new level: by bringing porn into it.
According to research firm Zscaler, this latest piece of malware is designed to sucker people into downloading a dedicated porn player...
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If you take the plunge to root (or "jailbreak") a mobile device, it enters you into a world where software exists that wants nothing more than to ruin your day. Or perhaps even your device.
On the Android side, malware has popped up on occasion, but iOS has seemingly been relatively safe. But an exception has just...
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Whenever a chip maker comes out with a new processor or System-on-Chip (SoC) design, the first thing everyone wants to know is how fast it is. Clockspeeds and benchmarks underscoring raw compute power draw the most attention, though there's more to a processor than speed alone. For example, Qualcomm today revealed...
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Kaspersky Lab is defending itself against accusations that it tricked competing antivirus services into damaging their clients’ computers. The Russian anti-malware software developer is well-known for its security software, but faces stiff competition from the likes of Avast, AVG, McAfee, Microsoft and Symantec...
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Adobe's Flash platform is running out of friends. You may recall that a few weeks ago Mozilla disabled Flash by default in its Firefox browser due to the discovery of multiple critical vulnerabilities, and around the same time, Facebook's chief security officer urged Adobe to set a kill date for its buggy API. Expect...
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Windows 10 is off to a blazing fast start. The last official count had Windows 10 installed on more than 14 million devices in its first 24 hours, and unofficially there are now more than 67 million PCs and hybrids running the new OS. So naturally the bad guys are looking to capitalize on the situation, which they're...
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You might think that given the reaction consumers had after Lenovo was found to be installing malware on customer PCs, other vendors would think twice about doing the exact same thing. Not Samsung, it seems, as it's just been discovered that the software updater tool it bundles with its notebooks takes it upon itself...
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Leading antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab said that it recently suffered a security breach involving at least three techniques that it had never seen before. The AV company described the attack as "one of the most sophisticated campaigns ever seen," though it believes it was able to detect the intrusion at an early stage, thereby mitigating the
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It seems that it was just yesterday that someone had to know a thing or two about software and programming to wreak havoc on fine upstanding Internet citizens via malware incursion. Ah, the good old days. Nostalgia aside, though, one cannot help but feel rattled by the news that security researchers at McAfee have discovered new software with
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If you thought that there couldn't possibly be more unbelievable stories to stem from Edward Snowden's leaks, you're sorely mistaken. Today, we learn of a truly appalling effort that the NSA and its partners worked together on to intercept Android users' connections to install malware and soak up information.
The...
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Given the incredible modding scene that surrounded Grand Theft Auto IV, it seemed inevitable that GTA V would follow suit. So far, that seems to be the case, although it will probably take some time before some of the best mods will be seen. Nonetheless, with prospects of great mods also comes prospects of other...
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Security firms and anti-malware providers sure do have their work cut out for them, a fact that seems to get emphasized every day. As attackers become more creative, researchers have to dig deep in order to understand how malware manages to hide itself so well. It used to be that static scanners would be suitable...
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Anyone who has driven an Android smartphone any distance whatsoever has no doubt wondered whether any of the apps they use could be serving as information conduits. The relaxed vetting process that the Google Play Store has in place ('relaxed' versus the jailer-esque process in use by those minding Apple's app store)...
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Researchers from security outfit ESET discovered that several thousand servers running Linux and BSD have unwittingly been sending out spam as a result of a previously undiscovered malware infection. This has been going on for more than 5 years, as the malware was able to stay hidden all this time due to its...
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A lot of the attention Windows 10 has received from the media has focused on consumer features and amenities, but there's quite a bit for enterprise users to look forward to as well. One of them is called Device Guard, a previously unnamed feature from Microsoft that gives organizations the ability to lock down...
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When is it fair to deem a botnet "complex"? Well, I think it's fair to label it as such when it requires a collection of cybercrime fighters from the US and Europe to ultimately give it its final blow.
Here's some context: "On 8 April, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and the Joint Cybercrime Action...
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Think stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from an enterprise organization is difficult? You might be surprised after learning about how the 'Dyre' malware that IBM has been tracking operates.
Like most malware, Dyre needs to infect a PC in order to work. This can be done via a number of different methods, but...
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What a week it has been for Lenovo. Often considered one of the best of the notebook vendors, it was discovered earlier this week that the company in recent months had been bundling some seriously shady software on many of the PCs it sold to consumers. Not only did this software inject advertising into user Web...
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It feels like we can't go a single week without learning of some new strain of Android malware, but for the most part, it's rare when we learn of one that introduces a brand-new design or unique mechanics. Well, a nameless piece of malware discovered by AVG this past week helps break the mold.
Infecting about...
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Well... that sure didn't take long. Yesterday, we reported on Lenovo, and how it had been shipping its customers' PCs equipped with some of the shadiest adware out there. Not only did this adware inject advertising into a user's regular browsing, it brought with it some major security flaws.
As we noted yesterday...
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