Latest Virus, Worm, Email security, spyware and malware News

Cyber-crooks spread malware via spoof YouTube messages
posted on 15/01/2009

According to PandaLabs, YouTube's message sending system has been partly compromised by cyber-crooks to spread malware. Hackers are sending spoof YouTube messages to users to say they have been caught on a spy cam and the video has been posted on the internet. The scam aims to trick users into clicking the link to the video. The messages appear to have been sent from YouTube and lead to a malware strain detected as Autodelete.G. If the user clicks the attached link a vicious bug gets automatically downloaded. “This type of attack is a frequently used technique of social engineering which, surprisingly, is very effective despite its relatively simple methodology. Cyber-crooks increasingly use popular social services such as YouTube to give authenticity to their emails and increase the number of potential victims”, explains Dominic Hoskins, Country Manager, Panda Security UK. Popular social networks and online services such as YouTube or Facebook are set to continue to be used to... [more]

New version of Downadup worm infects Windows workstations and servers on corporate networks
posted on 12/01/2009

A new version of the Downadup worm infects Windows workstations and servers on corporate networks. Since the new year, F-Secure has received several reports of corporate network infections and is working closely with these companies, as well as various CERT organisations, to fight this outbreak. Downadup (also known as Conficker) is a large family of network worms that is unusually difficult to remove, especially in the case of an internal infection inside a corporate network. What to do to avoid infection: * Make sure latest Microsoft patches have been applied * Make sure your organisation is running the latest version of your antivirus product * Check that the antivirus product has the latest updates * Turn off AUTORUN and AUTOPLAY for USB sticks * Make sure users domain passwords are strong * Take extra care about the domain administrators’ passwords What to do if your network is already infected: * Check your antivirus vendor’s website for dis... [more]

The Carphone Warehouse promotes bundled Kaspersky Internet Security and Mobile Security
posted on 12/01/2009

The Carphone Warehouse has selected Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 and Kaspersky Mobile Security for an exclusive in-store promotion. The products are available to all customers who purchase its range of mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, netbooks, broadband services and accessories at a promotional reduced price of £24.99 (RRP £59.99), from any of the 813 Carphone Warehouse stores located throughout the UK. The Carphone Warehouse is promoting in-store and online an exclusive bundled product offer that includes Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 three-user licence and Kaspersky Mobile Security for one-user. “One in ten people were affected by online fraud last year, with victims losing on average £875 each. Online fraud is a growing problem. To add to this, industry figures show an unprecedented growth in the number and sophistication of computer threats,” comments Graham Stapleton, Chief Commercial Officer at The Carphone Warehouse, concerning this exclusive Kaspersky Lab promotion... [more]

Two-thirds of UK businesses do not manage their Internet security
posted on 09/01/2009

According to new research by Network Box, nearly two-thirds of UK businesses do not look after their Internet security effectively. Just over 65 per cent of companies spend ‘no time’ managing their security systems (anti-virus, anti-spam, content filtering, VPN, intrusion detection and web usage and bandwidth policies). Nearly 15 per cent spend less than 30 minutes per week managing their IT security. Just over half (54 per cent) of companies don’t have a web usage monitoring policy in place to manage bandwidth. And yet nearly 70 per cent of companies said they regularly notice a slow-down in web access speeds. Productivity is affected, too: companies surveyed estimated that, on average, they could save around half and hour of time per day, per employee, if 80 per cent of non-work-related web usage was stopped. Simon Heron, Internet Security Analyst for Network Box, says: “IT managers have been led to believe that they can put antivirus and anti-spam systems on their network, and ... [more]

Mobile operators anticipate increased mobile spam attacks but are slow to protect against them
posted on 05/01/2009

According to a recent survey from Cloudmark, 100% of the top 12 mobile operators across Europe anticipate mobile spam volumes to rise as adoption of mobile social networking and mobile email increases. Remarkably however, only 16% are considering how to best guard against spam through mobile internet and email. As the use of mobile messaging continues to surge, users of text and multimedia messaging are also encountering a corresponding increase in the number of unsolicited messages sent to their mobiles. Currently, mobile operators across Europe admit that up to 20% of their users are affected by mobile SMS spam yet 83% of them don’t yet have a filtering system in place to prevent its effects on customers. Neil Cook, head of technology services EMEA, Cloudmark, says, “It’s imperative mobile operators take all spam seriously and implement security solutions now to prevent losing customers. In a related survey we conducted earlier this year, 2/3 of customers would consider leaving thei... [more]

Other Security news and resources