Almost daily now we come across a website that was obviously set up to take advantage of the unfortunate soul that lands on their page.
Here's an example of a page that is serving up a triple threat! Click on the image for a larger view.
First, they lure you in through the title "Lavasoft adware". Our product is Ad-Aware...not adware. That's the stuff we're fighting. There is also a screenshot of the Ad-Aware user interface. The text on the page is basic information that doesn't serve a purpose at all.
Researchers predicted that Storm was on the horizon for a new spam bout in mid-February - in order to take advantage of Valentines Day - but it seems to have hit a month early.
You may enjoy seeing messages of love in your e-mail inbox, but you need to be especially cautious of their validity; Storm is now using affectionate notes to worm its way into users' computers.
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.
Since we are closing the book on 2007, we wanted to look back and highlight a couple of the most interesting posts of the past year in a couple of different categories.
Security Tips
- Protect Your Passwords with Digital Lock
How to use Lavasoft Digital Lock (also included in Lavasoft Privacy Toolbox) to keep your password close and safe.
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.
It's getting to be that time of year when online threats shift into high gear, as scammers look to take advantage of the increase in Internet commerce during the upcoming holidays.
But staying secure online doesn't have to involve complicated solutions. Here's a useful tip to help you stay protected, courtesy of Joe Wells, our CTO:
In the last few days, there have been reports of online scams exploiting the wildfires in California, USA. Unfortunately, scams taking advantage of situations like this is nothing new.
In the past, we've seen international news, sports events, and even holidays lead to phishing and fraudulent e-mails. In many cases, disasters and tragedies also bring about fake charity sites popping up on the Web, set up by opportunists looking to cash in on recovery efforts.
Todays security tip: be sure to get the most out of your Ad-Aware software by using Ad-Aware 2007s "Web Update" feature.
The new Web Update feature allows you to receive incremental Definitions File updates, giving you a quick, easy way to stay protected from the latest spyware threats.
Web Update also allows us to automatically upload any new functions and features that we use to improve the 2007 version. That means, each time you update, you are downloading more power and better function for your Ad-Aware version.
The latest security vulnerabilities have been released from Microsoft. Octobers Patch Tuesday lists four "critical" and two "important" security bulletins (a total of nine vulnerabilities). The applications involved include Microsoft Word, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, and Kodak Image Viewer.
As you may have noticed by the new banner we've added on our homepage, October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Cyber Security Division and the National Cyber Security Alliance, the goal of this program is to educate everyday PC users on staying safe online.
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