Mobile banking sure to attract criminals
December 26, 2008
More Europeans than ever are using their mobile phones to do wireless banking. A comScore M:Metrics survey commissioned by Airwide Solutions found that 5.6 million people in the EU access financial information from their mobile phones – a 23.6 % year- over-year increase.
Seaton
It is starting to look like the emerging market for cellphone security products could, indeed, be a robust part of the tech market in …More
Apple anti-virus now available
December 23, 2008
Symantec has commenced selling anti-virus subscriptions for Macs — another sign the current generation of virulent Trojans circulating in e-mail and instant message spam, infesting Facebook and MySpace ; and lurking on millions of tainted web sites, are platform agnostic.
Mac users can now buy Norton Internet Security for Mac, which Symantec describes as “a next-generation security suite that integrates an all-new firewall and antivirus protection with tools to help …More
Consumers demanding trusted web sites
December 22, 2008
Before the Internet, businesses won customer trust through word-of-mouth, a handshake and exceptional service. But in today’s digital world, trust is earned through secure virtual storefronts with two-factor authentication, encryption and certification that a Web site is authentic.
Computer security is becoming so engrained in the psyche of consumers that many are willing to spend more to protect their PCs.
“These consumers understand that the repercussions of identity theft outweigh the few dollars …More
Zero-day Web attacks intensify
December 18, 2008
Zero-day attacks that take advantage of freshly-discovered security holes in web browsers and web applications intensified in November. ScanSafe reports that 26% of the web exploits it blocked on behalf of its customers last month were of the zero-day variety. That means no patches were available for the flaw being exploited. The rate of such attacks increased from 16% in October. The average for the year: 19%.
“Throughout November, attackers were …More
Yahoo limits hold on sensitive data
December 18, 2008
Yahoo has taken a bold step by saying it will hold some Personally Identifiable Information (PII), which it gathers from folks using its search service, for no more than 90 days. Google reportedly keeps some PII for 9 months; Microsoft for 18 months.
“This is a good example of a company that’s being proactive in protecting sensitive customer data, rather than being reactive and in crisis …More
Combining security and PC maintenance
December 18, 2008
Symantec has begun to market NortonLive’s PC Tune-up. You can get a feel for it via a free PC health check available here. A subscription is required for ongoing coverage. The concept makes good sense. You change your car oil and do routine maintenance on your car — why not your PC? says Symantec VP Lenny Alugas.
In addition to optimizing memory and performance, this service also does a security …More
Free protection from browser attacks
December 17, 2008
F-Secure is offering its Exploit Shield tool for free to help you defend yourself against the type of the browser attacks that compelled Microsoft to issue an emergency security patch today. F-Secure’s Chief Security Adviser Patrik Runald says Exploit Shield provides ‘zero-day’ protection against browser attacks for which no patches yet exist.
Here’s the high-level description from Runald: “The most common way to get infected today is through what are called drive-by downloads where …More