Let’s face it: Most people–even folks in the security industry–have a hard time explaining botnets (robot networks of infected computers) in a way that your Uncle Joe or Aunt Betty can understand. Is it really a big deal? Yes, it is. With the rapid growth in malware and bot infections we’re seeing, it’s important for Read more…
Tags: bot, botnet, Cybercrime, Data Protection, Endpoint Protection, facebook, global threat intelligence, identity protection, malware, social networking, spam, Web 2.0, zombie, zombie computers
Working in the security industry brings about a myriad of challenges. This is especially true for vendors. We must do our best to educate and inform. At the same time, we want to avoid laying on the FUD–or scaring customers into making poorly educated security decisions. Which brings us to the recent LizaMoon attacks. There Read more…
Tags: enterprise, global threat intelligence, malware, McAfee, Network Security, Web 2.0
BlackEnergy was a very popular DDoS bot a couple of years back. This bot has been under development and has evolved quite a bit over toward its more current successor, the Darkness bot. This Bot has evolved with new features continuously added to extend its malicious capabilities. Researchers have been keeping an eye on it Read more…
Tags: critical infrastructure, Cybercrime, Data Protection, Endpoint Protection, global threat intelligence, malware, Network Security, vulnerability, Web 2.0
Looking at computer threats from quarter to quarter remains a busy experience for us at McAfee Labs. Through the first three quarters of the year we have analyzed and cataloged more threats than in all other years combined, and the growth in both volume and sophistication of malware and attacks shows no signs of slowing. Read more…
Tags: botnet, critical infrastructure, Cybercrime, data breach, Data Protection, Email & Web Security, encryption, Endpoint Protection, facebook, global threat intelligence, Hacktivism, malware, Mobile, Operation Aurora, phishing, privacy, seo abuse, social networking, social networks, spam, sql attacks, Stuxnet, twitter, vulnerability, Web 2.0, zeus
Yesterday, at the Web 2.0 Summit, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt presented the Nexus S. This wasn’t just about a new phone, he also talked about how Gingerbread (Android OS Version 2.3) would have support for NFC (Near Field Communications) built in. In light of the mobile-phone hotel-key (NFC-based) trial going on at the Clarion hotel in Read more…
Tags: Android, Mobile, mobile devices and security threats, mobile security, NFC, Web 2.0
Following on from my last post where I was talking about efforts we were putting in place to stifle the use of the http://mcaf.ee secure short URL provider by spam merchants, I thought I’d share with you some interesting statistics of a recent spam attack. I pulled this pretty graph out of our Google Analytics Read more…
Tags: Consumer, GTI, mcaf.ee, Security-as-a-Service, spam, Web 2.0
McAfee Labs learned today that a malicious Java applet was being linked through a Facebook application. Users don’t have to install the Facebook app on their profiles to be be exposed to this threat. On browsing to a specific Facebook application page displayed in an Eastern European language, the page connects to a malicious site Read more…
Tags: Cybercrime, Email & Web Security, malware, social networking, Web 2.0
It looks like spammers have found a new way to increase their success rates on their “pump and dump” stock scams: using the target company’s legitimate social media marketing campaigns to their advantage. We’ve seen it before: Spammers purchase penny (low-priced) stocks, advertise them through email in an attempt to increase the stock price, and Read more…
Tags: Cybercrime, Email & Web Security, spam, Web 2.0
What a great month…and the activities aren’t over yet! Reflecting back over Cyber Security Awareness Month, I saw many encouraging ways that security professionals are taking on this “shared responsibility” to educate. I spent some quality time with the security executives of the Executive Women’s Forum and saw the passion the women in this organization Read more…
Tags: Consumer, Cybercrime, Public Sector, social networks, Web 2.0
The world’s most heavily trafficked web domain, .COM, is now the riskiest, according to our fourth annual Mapping the Mal Web report released today. A staggering fifty-six percent of all risky sites end in .COM! Researcher at our very own McAfee Labs analyzed more than 27 million websites to uncover which domains are the most Read more…
Tags: Cybercrime, data breach, Data Protection, Family Safety, global threat intelligence, identity protection, malware, privacy, social networking, spam, Web 2.0
Posts tagged under Web 2.0