For those of us in the online security industry, we don't question the fact that cyber crime is a real threat to consumers. And anyone who has been a victim of data theft can attest that security is nothing to scoff at.
The folks at Zango contacted us about our blog posting triggered from the Zango/Facebook article that was posted over at Fortinet. They are not happy with the manner in which we've handled our corporate ethics when reporting this information. We'd like to reprint their comments and give them fair space here so that you hear both sides and can make an informed decision for yourself.
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Zango, despite their best intentions, just can't seem to help themselves. They are at it again, this time using social engineering to help spread their worm that is masquerading as a secret crush on your Facebook page.
Before you can find out who the secret crush is you have to agree to download an application that allows it to:
(photo: Fortinet)
Some of the most common methods of malware infection are through exploits of unpatched operating systems (like Windows), web browsers, and software programs. In spite of that, only one out every 20 users is running a fully patched Windows PC, according to recent reports.
It's not too late to commit to those New Years resolutions that you made at the end of December.
We're making it easy for you to start 2008 off right by protecting the private information on your computer; learn how to get a fresh start for your PC and find out what you should be doing to stay safe online this year in the recently released January issue of Lavasoft News.
It's the time of year when we typically reflect on the past and make predictions for what the New Year may hold.
In terms of estimating the severity of the nasty tricks we can expect from online scammers in 2008, a good starting point is to understand how the malware economy itself has evolved into the sophisticated business that it is today.
The infamous "Storm Worm" malware is at it again - this time changing tactics to be in line with the holidays. Following an onslaught on Christmas Eve, when holiday-themed spam spread to tempt users to visit a malicious X-rated website, security researchers are now spotting New Years e-greeting cards with similar ill-willed intentions.
This past summer, the U.S. FBI announced the results of Operation Bot Roast, its ongoing cyber crime crackdown, launched to battle the growing botnet threat.
The second phase of the investigation against computer crime perpetrators, dubbed Bot Roast II, has resulted in a new string of arrests. To date, as a result of the ongoing investigation:
"Loss from online fraud in the U.S. is projected to reach $3.6 billion this year, up 20 percent from last year, according to a CyberSource survey."
Spear phishing and attacks on custom-built applications are two of the key threat trends this year, according to the trusted SANS Institute's annual report on Internet security.
The recently released list, Top 20 Internet Security Risks of 2007, pinpoints the cyber security risks that caused the most damage this past year in order to move towards adopting new security measures.
With Black Friday coming up at the end of the week and Cyber Monday just around the corner, the official start of the holiday shopping season (in both the real and online worlds) will be kicking off in no time at all.
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