Archive for June 3rd, 2009
Swine Flu Spam Emails Fox Users
The outbreak of swine flu has provided hackers a new opportunity to attack your computers.
With the virus fast-spreading and people wanting more information on the pandemic flu and safety, the hackers are capitalising on their fear to spread malicious content.
“The attacks arrive through an unsolicited email message typically containing a subject line related to the swine flu. These email messages may contain a link or an attachment,” said an advisory by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), the cyber security agency operating under the ministry of communications and IT.
“If users click on this link or open the attachment, they may be directed to a phishing website or infected with malicious code,” the CERT added.
The mails in fact look quite interesting with subject lines like ‘Swine influenza: frequently asked questions.pdf’, inviting users to click to know more about the subject.
“This is as an email with attachment and being used to drop malware on computers. It takes advantage of a vulnerability in Adobe ( a software) to drop a malicious ‘infostealer’ Trojan on the user’s computer,” said CERT.
“This is then used to steal personal information, such as credit card number and online bank credentials.”
Among some of the eye-catching subject lines that will tempt a user to click on the link include: ‘Madonna caught swine flu!’, ‘Swine flu worldwide!’ and ‘Swine flu in Hollywood!’
The CERT added that instances of such malicious attacks might increase with a number of new websites being registered with the term “swine flu” included in them.
“Right now they are not used for anything, but it is anticipated that at some point, these sites may be used for spamming purposes, perhaps advertisements or even greater malicious use,” it added.
Microsoft Windows7 to Hit Market End October 2009
Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday its new Windows 7 operating system will be generally available on Oct. 22, well ahead of its original schedule and in time for the holiday shopping season. The new operating system, which will replace the unpopular Vista, was originally planned for roll-out at the beginning of next year, but Microsoft confirmed last month that it would hit the market in time for the year’s busiest shopping period. The world’s largest software company said it will send Windows 7 code to PC makers to load onto new machines – known in the industry as “‘release to manufacturing”‘ – around the end of July.
By Oct. 22 2009, people will be able to buy new computers with Windows 7 installed, or pick up the software off the shelf to install on their old computers. Microsoft confirmed that it will run a program whereby people who buy a PC before Oct. 22 can upgrade to Windows 7, but it has not yet released details.
Opera Releases First Test Version of New Browser
Norway’s Opera Software released on Wednesday the first test version of Opera 10, the newest version of its browser, promising faster downloads, new design and new features.
Opera is the world’s third-largest browser maker, but is far behind Microsoft and Mozilla Foundation. Competition in the browser market has escalated lately after Google launched its own Internet browser, Chrome, in 2008.
“Your Web browser is the most important piece of software you will ever use,” Opera’s Chief Executive Jon von Tetzchner said in a statement. “We think Opera 10 will redefine how you can enjoy the Web.” Opera said the new browser is more than 40 percent faster than its previous browser on resource-intensive pages such as Gmail and Facebook, and adds features like full thumbnails of all open tabs. Companies usually release several successive test versions of their browsers so they can incorporate user feedback in a series of improvements before their final launch. Microsoft launched its latest IE8 browser in March after a year of public beta testing. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is used for about 60 percent of global Internet traffic, Mozilla’s Firefox has about 30 percent, and Opera is at 4 percent, just ahead of Google and Apple, according to Web analytics firm StatCounter.
Opera, Mozilla and Google have protested Microsoft’s dominance in the browser market to the European authorities. Microsoft has run afoul of U.S. and European antitrust regulators for bundling its browser with its operating system, which competitors say is an attempt to drive them out of the market. In January, European regulators brought formal charges against Microsoft for abusing its dominant market position by bundling its Internet Explorer Web browser with its Windows operating system, which is used in 95 percent of the world’s personal computers. Opera has a small share of the desktop browser market, but its mobile browser is the most widely used browser on handsets.
Symantec Releases Norton 360 Version3 in India
Symantec has announced the release of Norton 360 version 3.0, all-in-one security solution for consumers’ PC and all their online activities in India.
This latest version of Norton 360 extends protection to online activities with the full-featured version of the new Web site ratings service, Norton Safe Web.
Norton Safe Web, a web site rating service, is designed to extend protection to the users’ online experience – whether browsing, searching, shopping or interacting. Norton Safe Web leverages targeted crawling, a unique Intelligent Aging Algorithm and the 20 million member Norton Community Watch. In addition, Norton Safe Web also extends protection by providing ecommerce safety ratings that enable users to make informed decisions about whether to conduct a transaction with an online vendor.
“Norton 360 has become one of Symantec’s most popular consumer offerings in just two years due to the all-in-one convenience it delivers and the solutions value we have built directly into the suite,” said Gaurav Kanwal, Country Sales Manager, India, Consumer Products and Solutions. “With version 3.0, we are combining the unmatched performance of our 2009 security products with Norton Safe Web to create even more convenience and value for our customers.”
Norton 360 version 3.0 has an average install of approximately one minute and uses less than 10MB of memory. The latest version includes all of the performance and security enhancements of Norton Internet Security 2009, such as Norton Insight and pulse updates that result in intelligent scanning and the industry’s most frequent protection updates.
In addition to technologies like Norton Insight, Norton 360 includes Norton Identity Safe, which securely manages online identities, stores usernames and passwords for convenient online shopping, banking and browsing, and prevents eavesdropping programs such as keyloggers from capturing private information.
Norton Backup Drive enables users to manage backup through the Windows Explorer interface, while Backup Source Selection and File Type Management provide maximum flexibility. In addition, users can backup files to multiple destinations such as USB flash drives, iPods, CD/DVDs, Blu-ray media or secured online storage.
Smart Startup Manager turns off or delays unnecessary programs that slow startup time. It notifies users about new start-up items and measures the performance impact of each item. Norton 360 Version 3.0 also provides an enhanced Diagnostic Report showing a comprehensive system snapshot with recommended tips to keep the PC running at its best.
It now features free web, email, chat or phone support for a period of one year. Additionally, users can access One-Click Support to get help immediately and directly from the product’s interface.
Norton 360 version 3.0 will be available for purchase through the Symantec online store at http://www.symantecstore.com/sg. It will be available for purchase at various retail locations from mid-April 2009.
The standard edition of Norton 360 includes 2GB of secured online storage, and additional online storage can be purchased. Current Norton 360 customers with an active subscription can receive an update with the new features at no additional charge by visiting the Norton Update Centre at www.symantec.com/nuc. Additionally, Symantec has been testing Norton 360 version 3.0 to be compatible with Windows 7, and Norton 360 customers will be eligible to receive a free online update for Windows 7 after the final version of the operating system is made available.