Category: Security

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XBox Live on guard after PSN hack

Microsoft warned its Xbox Live users today to be on alert of any potential scammers who want to steal your sensitive personal information. Just recently, the Playstation Network suffered an intrusion by a hacker who stole personal user information such as credit card numbers for nearly 77 million users. As reported, this issue seems to be an isolated issue. According to Microsoft, users who...

Sony admits hackers took PSN user data

Sony admits hackers took PSN user data

Sony warned that hackers stole password, birthday and other data about users of its PlayStation Network that connected PlayStation 3 (PS3) consoles to online games, films and more. PlayStation Network and Qriocity streaming music service were turned off April 20 in the wake of an “external intrusion,” according to Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold. While the cyber attack was still being investigated, Sony said it...

Kaspersky TDSSKiller kills rootkits fast

Kaspersky TDSSKiller kills rootkits fast

Rootkits are the ultimate in stealthy malware, burying themselves so deep into your system that they’re often very hard to spot. If you’re unlucky enough to encounter one then your antivirus package might detect it, but there are no guarantees, and so it may be wise to equip your PC with a second line of defence in Kaspersky’s TDSSKiller. As the name suggests, TDSSKiller is...

Fading data could improve privacy

Fading data could improve privacy

Privacy could be enhanced if data was allowed to fade, suggests research. Dutch researcher Dr Harold van Heerde is looking into ways to gradually “degrade” the information that sites gather about visitors. Slowly swapping details for more general information can help guard against accidental disclosure, he said.

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Linux trojan raises malware concerns

I’ve got good news and bad news for those of the misguided perception that Linux is somehow impervious to attack or compromise. The bad news is that it turns out a vast collection of Linux systems may, in fact, be pwned. The good news, at least for IT administrators and organizations that rely on Linux as a server or desktop operating system, is that...

Symantec buys VeriSign checkmark for $1.28 Billion

Symantec buys VeriSign checkmark for $1.28 Billion

On the surface, it might sound like one of those amateurish conclusions a blogger might reach after having just read the press release: Symantec, a software company now mainly known for security products, acquires some assets from a non-competitor in order to get that company’s logo. But in the deal between Symantec and VeriSign announced yesterday, there is no mistaking the fact that the...

Adobe warns of Flash, PDF zero-day attacks

Adobe warns of Flash, PDF zero-day attacks

Adobe issued an alert late Friday night to warn about zero-day attacks against an unpatched vulnerability in its Reader and Flash Player software products. The vulnerability, described as critical, affects Adobe Flash Player 10.0.45.2 and earlier versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and Solaris operating systems. It also affects the authplay.dll component that ships with Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x for Windows, Macintosh and UNIX...

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Microsoft releases urgent fix for the Server service

Microsoft has released an urgent hotfix for the Server service. This hotfix applies to Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an affected system received a specially crafted RPC request. “Consistent exploit code has been discovered in limited, targeted attacks, affecting Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. While this service...

Stealthy malware expands rootkit repertoire

Stealthy malware expands rootkit repertoire

Security researchers have discovered one of the most subtle and sophisticated examples of Windows rootkit software known to date. The AutoRun-NOX worm extends the standard VXer trick of using software vulnerabilities to infect systems, by including functionality that allows the worm to exploit Windows security bugs to hook into parts of the Windows system that operate below the radar of anti-virus packages. “Most malware...

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Ubuntu issues security patch for kernel flaw

Ubuntu today became the latest Linux vendor to patch a vulnerability in the open source operating system’s kernel that could have left the door open for hackers to find their way into users’ machines. In an email sent overnight, the Linux vendor warned users to update all machines running recent versions of Ubuntu, ranging from 6.06, which was released back in mid-2006, to version...