The Security Resource for Everyone
A new browser flaw, discovered in early December by Danish security firm Secunia, could make identity theft even easier for hackers. This flaw could allow a site to display a false address in the browser.s address bar. Read the rest of this entry »
Beginning its beta testing phase in mid-December, Windows XP Service Pack 2 is not your ordinary bundle of patches. Microsoft has released a document explaining the long list of changes the service pack will effect, noting that these alterations are meant not just to repair security flaws, but also to change some of WinXP.s core functionality. Read the rest of this entry »
D-Squared Solutions, a small startup run by two college students, is the maker of a $25 pop-up blocker product that they advertise by making pop-ups appear on people.s computers. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got a court order in November to force D-Squared to stop advertising in this manner, claiming that the ads are a form of .extortion. similar to a vandal throwing a brick through a window to advertise home security. They also allege that these ads could cause computers to crash. Read the rest of this entry »
Potential exploits of the Windows Messenger service are more serious than initially thought, according to Symantec.s Threat Analyst Team. The service was originally intended to allow administrators to send pop-up messages to computers on the same network, but has since been used to annoy people with pop-up advertising as well as becoming a known security threat. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the greatest threats to PC security and privacy in 2004 may be peer-to-peer file sharing. Bruce Hughes, the director of malicious code research at ICSA Labs, analyzed hundreds of the files exchanged using Kazaa, a popular peer-to-peer file sharing program, and found that 45 percent of those files contained viruses, worms or Trojan horses. To read more about why peer-to-peer file sharing is such a great threat to the well-being of your computer, visit our detailed [url=http://www.pcsecuritynews.com/faq/index.html?aktion=artikel&rubrik=009&id=23&lang=en]FAQ article on P2P problems[/url].
Earlier this December, Microsoft announced that it will no longer offer support for Windows 95 and 98 (It still, however, will be supporting Windows 98SE). For Win9x users, this means no more hot fixes and updates, even if major exploits and security flaws are discovered. Does this mean it is time for you to upgrade, though? Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft is warning all those who have purchased or received new PCs that, while the machines might seem ready to go, they likely have security holes that need to be patched before using the Internet. Follow these steps to make sure that your new PC is safe to use on the Net. Read the rest of this entry »
Microsoft has created a CD that contains all the patches for Windows 98, 98SE, and ME. Currently in beta testing, this CD will be a new option for people using older versions of Windows and slow Internet connections that may have had trouble downloading the patches from Windows Update. Part of Microsoft’s new security initiative, it is hoped that the new CD will help eliminate security vulnerabilities on computers that have previously gone unpatched.
A newly discovered buffer overflow issue in Yahoo! Messenger could allow a malicious hacker to execute code on your computer. Yahoo! urges its users to upgrade to the latest version, [url=http://messenger.yahoo.com/messenger/download/dinstructions.html]Yahoo! Messenger 5.6[/url], to fix this flaw.
Microsoft did not release any patches this Tuesday, which is strange considering that there are several known flaws in Internet Explorer 6 (and possibly earlier versions of IE as well). Risk can, however, be considerably diminished by turning off active scripting in your browser. Read the rest of this entry »