Archive for the ‘Security Help’ Category

Your computer’s Web browser is a wonderful thing. It takes you all over the Web, allowing you to watch videos, buy things, download anything, play games, etc. You name it, it lets you do it. Your Web browser, whether it be Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera or one of the others available, is your Web surfing vessel; sort of like a magic carpet ride through cyberspace. Your beloved Web… Continue reading

Riding Out the Storm

Well, it’s been a couple of months now and the Storm Worm that took over the Internet like a hurricane is back, sending wave after wave of attacks on unsuspecting end users.

Wave one was a hailstorm of e-mails sent out that referenced “Love“ or something romantic in the subject line, in order to entice users into opening the e-mail. The sheer numbers of… Continue reading

Understanding HijackThis

Have you ever been hijacked? On the Internet, I mean!

Maybe you suddenly find that your homepage (for example, the Web site that comes up when you first open your Web browser) has been changed or you get another search box instead of Google. I’m sure other unexplained browser actions occur too, but those are just a couple examples.

So, you may not know it, but if that… Continue reading

Grisoft Anti-Rootkit

Rootkits are a specific type of malware that has become increasingly popular in the past year and a half, but they have actually been around for a long time in the computer world. Rootkits are a type of specially crafted code that is embedded within another application or even in a system’s operating system. They spy on and capture information from the infected system.

Rootkits… Continue reading

MatrixHasYou

Even though you may not want to, I’m sure you can guess by the title that this tip is going to be about a type of Trojan virus that is making its rounds these days. This Trojan actually made its debut in December of 2006, but it’s still causing a lot of problems, so I thought I would inform you all about it today. The full name of this… Continue reading

Don’t Blink or You’ll Miss It

You may remember eEye, the security company that runs the Zero-Day Tracker. It’s a Web service that displays all the Zero-Day affected applications with a list of supporting details. Well, this fine company has decided to throw their hat into the ring and duke it out with the rest of savages in the antivirus/Internet security arena. It’s big news… Continue reading

Gozi Trojan

A new Trojan has recently surfaced among several computer users and it’s important that you keep an eye out for it as well. This one goes by the name of Gozi and it was announced around the date of March 20, 2007. The problems with the Gozi Trojan are actually being caused by Russian malware authors. Evidently, they have found new ways to access and profit from what… Continue reading

Vulnerabilities for March 2007

Vista Mail Bug

This article shouldn’t be a surprise. Microsoft’s predecessor to Outlook Express, called Vista Mail, might have one of its first exploits. A vulnerability in the way the mail client handles specially crafted links in e-mails could allow the running of arbitrary codes from a remote user. Microsoft has said that they have not seen any attacks specifically taking advantage of the security hole… Continue reading

BrowserSpy

The Web is a magical place where the answer to almost any question is just a click away. But, the Web is also a place where deception and exploitation are always waiting just around the next link. In the past six months, there have been updates and advisories for some of the Web’s most used applications, such as QuickTime, Adobe Reader, several plug-ins and some Active X controls… Continue reading

Windows OneCare: Feeling the Heat

Making its debut more than one year ago, Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft’s representative in the antivirus race, has at least gained some name recognition in the security field. But, that’s not always necessarily a good thing.

There have been a few antivirus shoot-outs over the past couple of months, with comparisons of all the different antivirus software packages available. The results of these… Continue reading

Apple QuickTime Update

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the popular media player from Apple called QuickTime, right? The free version of the player can handle any number of audio, as well as, video file types and it is almost a necessity if you like to view media on the Web.

Almost everyone has QuickTime installed on their system, whether they know it or not. Go ahead and take a… Continue reading

Secunia Update Advisor

I shouldn’t have to remind anyone out there how important it is to keep your software up to date. Not only for security based applications, such as your antivirus solutions, but this includes your everyday applications as well. An open vulnerability in just one application on your system can make your whole PC vulnerable to attacks. The analogy of “A chain is only as strong as its… Continue reading

Vista Time Limit Controls

There wasn’t a whole lot on the security horizon this week, so I thought I would pull a security tip from Windows’ new operating system of Vista. Windows Vista introduces a slew of new features, that’s for sure! And in the area of security is where you’ll find a lot of them. So, from here on out, you may see me introducing a new or modified… Continue reading

February Security Advisory

The Storm Worm is back and this time, it’s an all out war. A couple of weeks back, I wrote an article describing some new Trojans that carried a subject line regarding a huge storm battering the shores of Europe. The Worm was unique in a few ways that made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to track down or shut down.

The new Storm… Continue reading

The Dangers of ActiveX

ActiveX is a set of controls created by Microsoft that allows a user to interact with and run compatible applications over the Internet. Similar to the popular Java Applet, ActiveX is a useful tool in many ways and is being used on the Web more than ever, in order to bring interactive content to Web sites. Unfortunately, this is also a great avenue of… Continue reading

Faulty Word Attachments

Microsoft is at the bad end of yet another Zero-Day flaw, bringing the total to five unpatched vulnerabilities in almost 60 days. Security companies of Symantec and Secuna have reported the security hole that could allow attackers control of your system by simply opening an infected MS Word document. The vulnerability has even earned itself a “highly critical” rating, which is the highest level a… Continue reading

The Storm Worm

News Alert: 230 Dead As Storm Batters Europe

Or, at least, that’s what one of the latest subject lines of a new worm that, according to F-Secure, is battering the shores of the Internet. I have received mixed reports on the actual widespread damage that this is actually causing, but it is a threat nonetheless and it’s my job to keep you all informed.

The… Continue reading

Zero-Day Tracker

Zero-Day attacks have been in the news all year long, with one vulnerability after another. Whether it’s been Windows, Apple, Adobe or any of the other software vendors out there today, they have all had to chase down a patch, at some point, over the past 12 months. Zero-Day exploits, in case you are not familiar, are exploits that come out after the public release… Continue reading

Latest Threats

With the new year in full swing, I wanted to give you all a head’s up on some of the most recent virus threats that have been lingering around. Now, if you have an antivirus program installed on your computer, you should be just fine. You are probably not at risk with any of these, but it never hurts to know the information that lies behind them. If… Continue reading

Security Updates

There are a couple of things I wanted to go over with everyone this week. There’s actually a lot going on and I thought it would be a good idea to inform everyone of what is going on in the world of PC security this week. Let’s see, I wanted to discuss the always important Microsoft Updates, which come around the first Tuesday of every month and what… Continue reading

Q:
Now that you’ve told us about the Trojan Flooder threat, is there any way to fix it?

A:
There sure is and I’m glad you asked. It was only yesterday that I shared the news with all of you about the Trojan Flooder.AKE risk (see yesterday’s quick tip) and already, several of you have e-mailed me, asking me how you can fix it. I had planned on… Continue reading

Trojan Flooder

If you’re like me, when you see the word “Trojan,” you probably panic. Am I right? Of course, a Trojan is pretty much only associated with a virus (or at least some sort of threat) in today’s computer world. They are basically completely destructive programs that disguise themselves as very helpful and useful programs. But, in all actuality, they contain hidden code which allows them to do harmful… Continue reading

Mozilla Firefox Vulnerabilities

Today’s security topic was easy to miss over the busy weekend, so I decided to shed some light on things here, the Tuesday after the big holiday break.

The Mozilla foundation surely has been having a wonderful holiday. I expect that with 10 new vulnerabilities, they could be having nothing else. These new risks affect not only their popular Internet browser, Firefox, but also Thunderbird (the POP3… Continue reading

Phishing, in case you haven’t either seen it or heard of it by now, is basically a certain type of attachment in which an online entity convinces the user to visit a specially crafted Web site in order to capture personal information. Phishing attaches for the months of November and December are usually out of control from the holiday shopping season and it is made painfully… Continue reading

Protect Your Computer

Have you noticed anything weird going on with your computer lately? Maybe it’s been running rather slowly or you’ve been receiving several error messages. Various other things could be happening too, but if either of those two things have been going on, it sounds like your computer is not up to par. When those sort of errors occur, it means that your computer is not running efficiently… Continue reading

The Zero-Days of December

In the past 10 days, there have been two different vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Word program that basically allow potential control of your system through a remote entity. The two Zero-Day (read above in today’s Quick Tip for a definition of this) exploits are only being seen in limited numbers so far, but they still have the severity rating of “critical,” which is the highest rating… Continue reading

MySpace QuickTime Worm

It seems that on December 1st, a cross-scripting worm was discovered to be infecting MySpace accounts. The JS/Qspace, as it has been called, is a worm that uses a vulnerability in Apple’s QuickTime Media Player HREF feature in order to redirect visitors to a phishing site. Once on the site, the users are asked to put in their information where it is then… Continue reading