Intel, the largest chip maker on this or any other known planet, cleared at least one major hurdle in its attempt to acquire security firm McAfee. That hurdle? The Federal Trade Commission, which has given the proposed $7.68 billion deal its stamp of approval. "The Federal Trade Commission has concluded its review of the proposed McAfee transaction...Read more...
Some signaled the death knell of security firms like Symantec and McAfee after Microsoft released its free Microsoft Security Essentials product. That hasn't been the case, however, and Intel sure doesn't feel that way, or it wouldn't have bought security giant McAfee for $7.68 billion, as it did on Thursday. The deal is all-cash, and...Read more...
If you've read any of our recent mobile reviews, you'd know that we're no fans of pre-installed security/anti-virus software. Too often, these suits are nagging, and they generally bog down a system that would otherwise run far faster. We have no issues with these applications being bundled on a disc, but having them on the HDD right out of...Read more...
Symantec has released a report (.PDF) on what it calls "rogue security software." According to the report, Symantec has detected over 250 distinct rogue security software programs, and during the timeframe of the report, July 2008 - June 2009, 43 million attempted downloads of such rogue programs. The company was unable to determine exactly...Read more...
While Symantec and other antivirus firms may make gibes at Microsoft's free Security Essentials antivirus, Microsoft reportedly offered the product in order to increase AV coverage in regions where people can't afford to pay for one. At least, that's the reason they gave, and at first glance it appears MSE is making...Read more...
McAfee recently launched an online backup service that lets you store and encrypt photos, videos, music, emails, and other files. To make things even easier, McAfee Online Backup is a completely automated service that provides unlimited capacity. After installation, the backup process is automatic and takes place in...Read more...
Microsoft's new Security Essentials anti-malware product has just gone live. The site has been updated in the past hour or so, since we last checked it, and users can now download Microsoft Security Essentials for 32-bit Windows XP, and 32- and 64-bit Windows Vista/7. That's correct, in case you're wondering. There is no support for 64-bit...Read more...
Here's a way to get attention to your product: suggest that it can prevent consumers' PCs from becoming a "zombie." Believe it or not, a new report from McAfee suggests there has been a 50% increase in the number of detected "zombie computers" since 2008. You're terrified already, aren't you?According to a BBC report, a zombie PC is simply...Read more...
Considering the explosion of layoffs announced in recent weeks, companies would do well to seriously be on guard against data theft. According to a survey that polled some 800 companies in eight countries, 42 percent of firms admitted that laid-off employees were the single largest threat to their data security.The survey, which was unsurprisingly...Read more...
McAfee has released its annual "Mapping the Mal Web" report, which reports on "the riskiest and safest places on the Web," after analyzing "9.9 million heavily trafficked Web sites" using its own McAfee Site Advisor technology. Topping the list of most dangerous domains is the .hk domain (Hong Kong); the safest domain is .fi (Finland). Ranked...Read more...
Hacker Safe? We're guessing that applies only to web sites, not securities fraud.One of the researchers behind ScanAlert, the "Hacker Safe" certification company McAfee recently acquired, is facing fraud charges in Indiana.Brett Oliphant, whose title had been vice president of security services before the Napa, California, company was...Read more...
Yahoo wants your Web searching to be safe. Yahoo has partnered with McAfee to utilize McAfee's SiteAdvisor technology in Yahoo searches to keep Web surfers from visiting would-be harmful sites. In a press release from earlier today, Yahoo stated:"Yahoo!, Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) and McAfee, Inc. (NYSE:MFE) today announced a partnership to deliver...Read more...
This experiment resembles nothing so much as the Super Size Me experiment, where a man attempted to live on McDonald's food for an entire month. McAfee has started a 30-day study to see just how much junk people can get via spam.The Santa Clara company solicited participants through an ad on Craigslist and chose five people from each...Read more...