Windows is an attractive platform for the malware writers, in part, because of the sheer number of users. As Microsoft creep towards making their offerings more secure, applications are increasingly becoming the focus for vulnerability exploitation.
Like Windows, Adobe products are a default software choice for most users. The bad guys know this and realise that its profitable to scrutinise their applications for exploitable vulnerabilities and create malware to take advantage of the fact.
Firefox 3.6.11 and Thunderbird 3.15 have been released which include security updates for several critical vulnerabilities that can be exploited to run malicious code. Users are advised to update these applications.
Full details about the updates here:
Firefox
Thunderbird
Its a good idea to set these applications to check for updates automatically.
In a recent article by CBC News more security and privacy concerns for companies, and possibly individuals, have been highlighted.
The problem centers around your disused photocopier. Since modern photocopiers contain hard drives for storing the information they scan this information is available long after you have forgotten all about it.
So, you’ve just bought a new PC or installed a fresh version of Windows. The simple fact is it's not as secure as it could be.
It doesn’t take much to tighten up your PC’s defenses - even if your computer has been up and running for a while, it’s not too late to carry out a security audit on your machine.
You probably wouldn’t leave your house without checking the windows are closed and the doors are locked. Why would you do that? Well, to stop someone breaking in and stealing your stuff or to prevent people just walking in and spray painting the walls.
Microsoft have released a number of patches to fix recently reported vulnerabilities within Windows, Office and Internet Explorer. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to gain control of your computer or cause it to crash.
More information about what has been patched is available from Microsoft's 10th October Security Bulletin here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-oct.mspx
If you don't have automatic updates enabled, install the updates by visiting https://www.update.microsoft.com
Tips on how to protect your privacy while using location-based services.
A few weeks ago, Facebook launched its new location-based service called Facebook Places. The feature lets users check in to different locations, via smartphones, and to share their location with their Facebook friends. It also gives users the option to “tag” friends who are with them at that same location.
Just as any location-based service would, this raises a multitude of security and privacy issues.
A columnist at the News and Observer recently wrote an article called “How To Safely Clear Your Computer of Spyware” and referred readers to Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware software. However, some users ran into trouble when they tried to download Ad-Aware Free. We’d like to pass on that news so you can see why it’s so important to be careful what you click.
Some call it football. Others call it soccer. No matter what you term the game, the effects of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the most widely-viewed sporting event across the globe, can be seen all around the world – and around the Web – after the kickoff this past Friday.
Here’s one to watch out for: The U.S. FTC is warning consumers and businesses to be aware of scams stemming from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The scams are likely to come in the form of real world (including phone calls, door-to-door collections, and flyers) as well as online dangers (including e-mail, websites, and social networking sites).
Malware distributors often hijack current events to serve malware and with the FIFA World Cup almost upon us (come on Northern Ireland!! Oh.. wait..) a deluge of booby trapped sites appearing in search engine results is inevitable.
Microsoft has said that it will be releasing two security bulletins today, on Patch Tuesday, to fix vulnerabilities in Windows and Office.
Here’s what we know from Microsoft's advance notification for May: both of the updates are rated critical, and will address remote execution vulnerabilities; the bulletins affect Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Server 2003 and Server 2008, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Visual Basic for Application and Visual Basic for Applications software development kit.
Need help on understanding patches, and updating your system? Learn more in the latest issue of Lavasoft News, where we take a look at why it’s important to keep your system and software updated – and how to do it.
Consumer Reports has unveiled the findings of its annual “State of the Net” report, a survey of 2,000 online U.S. households.
What did this year’s report find? Overall, more people are using social networking sites (almost double the amount from last year’s findings), but are doing so without enough thought to privacy and security (more than half of social network users share private information about themselves online, opening themselves up to a variety of online risks, like identity theft).
Here are a few of the key findings from the State of the Net 2010: