http://news.softpedia.com Softpedia News - Advisories Softpedia News en-us 2001 - 2012 Softpedia. All rights reserved. Tue, 29 May 2012 01:02:18 GMT Tue, 29 May 2012 01:02:18 GMT News http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 10 http://news.softpedia.com/base_img/softpedia_logo.gif http://news.softpedia.com http://news.softpedia.com/news/Spammers-Promote-Fake-Luxury-Goods-on-Hijacked-Joomla-and-WordPress-Sites-270345.shtml Security experts have found that a number of compromised WordPress and Joomla websites are used by spammers to advertise shady slimming pills and counterfeit luxury goods. The worst part is that the owners of these sites are most likely unaware of what’s going on.

Webmasters often fail to check their we... (read more)]]> Fri, 18 May 2012 08:38:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Spammers-Promote-Fake-Luxury-Goods-on-Hijacked-Joomla-and-WordPress-Sites-270345.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Spammers-Promote-Fake-Luxury-Goods-on-Hijacked-Joomla-and-WordPress-Sites-270345.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/BBB-Warns-of-Jamaican-Lottery-Scam-Calls-269429.shtml Scam operations launched by Nigerian crooks, also known as 419 scams, have been around ever since email was invented, but more recently, US residents are being bombarded with shady calls from Jamaica, informing them that they’ve won a lottery.

Users are warned that lottery plots don’t arrive only via email, the Federal Trade Comm... (read more)]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 13:55:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/BBB-Warns-of-Jamaican-Lottery-Scam-Calls-269429.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/BBB-Warns-of-Jamaican-Lottery-Scam-Calls-269429.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Avast-Warns-About-FakeInst-and-Alternative-Android-Markets-269380.shtml The large number of malicious websites designed to infect Android devices with the well-known Android:FakeInst SMS Trojan have made Avast security experts issue another warning to alert users of its presence. They also advise smartphone owners to beware of shady-looking alternative Android app markets.

Researchers have... (read more)]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 12:15:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Avast-Warns-About-FakeInst-and-Alternative-Android-Markets-269380.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Avast-Warns-About-FakeInst-and-Alternative-Android-Markets-269380.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Shady-Windows-Technicians-Use-LogMeIn-to-Take-Control-of-Devices-268773.shtml Scams in which an alleged Windows technician calls to say that your computer is sending error messages to them are not new, but it seems they will never get old. Norman experts reveal that in some cases the scammers will call even 5 times a day trying to convince their victims to purchase so-called cleaning/repair products.
... (read more)]]> Thu, 10 May 2012 12:07:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Shady-Windows-Technicians-Use-LogMeIn-to-Take-Control-of-Devices-268773.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Shady-Windows-Technicians-Use-LogMeIn-to-Take-Control-of-Devices-268773.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/DHS-Urges-Users-to-Check-for-DNSChanger-Malware-Time-Is-Running-Out-268754.shtml Because of the massive DNSChanger malware infection, a large number of users may lose their Internet access on July 9. That is why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an advisory, urging people to make sure that by then their computers will be malware-free.

Initially, four million computers, spread out... (read more)]]> Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/DHS-Urges-Users-to-Check-for-DNSChanger-Malware-Time-Is-Running-Out-268754.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/DHS-Urges-Users-to-Check-for-DNSChanger-Malware-Time-Is-Running-Out-268754.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Expert-Firms-Inability-to-Protect-Against-MitM-Attacks-Allows-Crooks-to-Steal-Billions-268686.shtml At the beginning of May, the FBI revealed that a man from Georgia, along with a number of accomplices, admitted to stealing more than $1.3 million (1 million EUR) after phishing the credentials of unsuspecting Internet users.

The cybercriminals defrauded people by creating web pages that replicat... (read more)]]> Thu, 10 May 2012 07:59:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Expert-Firms-Inability-to-Protect-Against-MitM-Attacks-Allows-Crooks-to-Steal-Billions-268686.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Expert-Firms-Inability-to-Protect-Against-MitM-Attacks-Allows-Crooks-to-Steal-Billions-268686.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Make-Poll-to-Better-Understand-Fake-Tech-Support-Calls-267372.shtml The SANS Technology Institute has launched a poll with the purpose of determining how common fake tech support calls are. The report tries to learn the details of these schemes by requesting the aid of individuals who have been approached by scam artists that run such operations.

Every once in a while we take a look at ... (read more)]]> Wed, 2 May 2012 11:19:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Make-Poll-to-Better-Understand-Fake-Tech-Support-Calls-267372.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Make-Poll-to-Better-Understand-Fake-Tech-Support-Calls-267372.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/FBI-Issues-Advisory-on-Social-Networking-Risks-267052.shtml The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) issued its new Internet Social Networking Risks advisory to highlight the threats that target the customers of social media websites.

First of all, the two main tactics used to exploit social networks are explained. On one side, there are highly skilled hackers who use specialized software to ... (read more)]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:01:02 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/FBI-Issues-Advisory-on-Social-Networking-Risks-267052.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/FBI-Issues-Advisory-on-Social-Networking-Risks-267052.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/ICO-Many-Fail-to-Delete-Personal-Data-Before-Selling-Storage-Devices-266411.shtml A study made by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found that many individuals from the UK failed to ensure that all their sensitive data was properly erased from storage devices before selling them or giving them away. This allows fraudsters to commit crimes more easily.

The organization is urging ... (read more)]]> Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:49:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/ICO-Many-Fail-to-Delete-Personal-Data-Before-Selling-Storage-Devices-266411.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/ICO-Many-Fail-to-Delete-Personal-Data-Before-Selling-Storage-Devices-266411.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Expert-Offers-Tips-on-How-to-Clean-Up-a-Computer-265860.shtml Spring is in the air and most people are planning to clean up their households in preparation for the new season. However, Sorin Mustaca, data security expert at Avira, recommends that users also take a look at the dirt that may be on their computer’s hard drive.

This winter we’ve seen a lot of malicious element... (read more)]]> Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:46:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Expert-Offers-Tips-on-How-to-Clean-Up-a-Computer-265860.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Expert-Offers-Tips-on-How-to-Clean-Up-a-Computer-265860.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/ABB-Refuses-to-Patch-Vulnerabilities-in-Legacy-Systems-263008.shtml Researchers Terry McCorke and Billy Rios identified a buffer overflow flaw in a number of components of the ABB WebWare Server applications that are currently being used in many legacy ABB products. However, because they’re approaching the end of their life cycle, the company revealed that no patches should be expected.

A... (read more)]]> Thu, 5 Apr 2012 11:46:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/ABB-Refuses-to-Patch-Vulnerabilities-in-Legacy-Systems-263008.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/ABB-Refuses-to-Patch-Vulnerabilities-in-Legacy-Systems-263008.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Petition-Remove-The-Baby-Charity-Scam-Photos-From-Facebook-258748.shtml Some time ago, a campaign was launched with the purpose of convincing Facebook to treat baby charity scams more seriously. Unfortunately, the social media company hasn’t done much to prevent the phenomenon and that’s why the initiators of the project have made a petition called “Remove The Baby Charity Scam Photos From... (read more)]]> Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:24:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Petition-Remove-The-Baby-Charity-Scam-Photos-From-Facebook-258748.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Petition-Remove-The-Baby-Charity-Scam-Photos-From-Facebook-258748.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Location-Based-Social-Media-Poses-Security-Risk-to-Military-258603.shtml Military officials warn staff members that the risks posed by social media are high. Sites and apps that rely on GPS features to reveal someone’s location imperil missions and even lives.

Social media applications and platforms are a lot of fun and their popularity increases each day, but with that popularity also c... (read more)]]> Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:56:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Location-Based-Social-Media-Poses-Security-Risk-to-Military-258603.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Location-Based-Social-Media-Poses-Security-Risk-to-Military-258603.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Manchester-United-and-59-Other-Sites-Named-Vulnerable-by-Zer0Freak-255348.shtml A number of 60 high-profile websites were found to contain cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities that can potentially expose the sites’ visitors to malicious operations launched by cybercriminals with a clearly defined agenda.

The list of vulnerable sites provided by Zer0Freak, a hacker part of Team Intr... (read more)]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:11:01 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Manchester-United-and-59-Other-Sites-Named-Vulnerable-by-Zer0Freak-255348.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Manchester-United-and-59-Other-Sites-Named-Vulnerable-by-Zer0Freak-255348.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Security-Holes-Found-in-25-Verisign-Trusted-Online-Stores-Exclusive-255155.shtml Freedom, the grey hat hacker that in the past period identified a lot of cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in some important websites, returns with other interesting finds. He discovered a number of 25 online shops from the United Kingdom containing XSS security holes.

The worrying thing is that all of the... (read more)]]> Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:22:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Security-Holes-Found-in-25-Verisign-Trusted-Online-Stores-Exclusive-255155.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Security-Holes-Found-in-25-Verisign-Trusted-Online-Stores-Exclusive-255155.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Privacy-and-Security-Risks-Posed-by-Online-Dating-Services-252770.shtml This time of year many users may be tempted to turn to online dating sites to find someone to spend Valentine’s Day with. Unfortunately, many internauts are not aware of the privacy and security risks some of these websites expose them to.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) made a list of factors that should... (read more)]]> Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:56:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Privacy-and-Security-Risks-Posed-by-Online-Dating-Services-252770.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Privacy-and-Security-Risks-Posed-by-Online-Dating-Services-252770.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Metropolitan-Police-Beware-of-Law-Enforcement-Viruses-252688.shtml The UK Metropolitan Police’s Central e-crime Unit (PCeU) is warning Internet users about the massive malware campaign that locks computers allegedly in the name of the law enforcement agency.

Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center informed us a while back that the campaign is targeting users from all across Europe, lo... (read more)]]> Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:02:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Metropolitan-Police-Beware-of-Law-Enforcement-Viruses-252688.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Metropolitan-Police-Beware-of-Law-Enforcement-Viruses-252688.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/German-Government-Guides-Consumers-and-Businesses-About-Security-250909.shtml Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the government’s IT security service provider, issued guidelines with the purpose of educating both individuals and companies on the safety measures they should implement to make sure their digital assets are protected.

Their recommendations address ... (read more)]]> Mon, 6 Feb 2012 12:22:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/German-Government-Guides-Consumers-and-Businesses-About-Security-250909.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/German-Government-Guides-Consumers-and-Businesses-About-Security-250909.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Stop-Sick-Children-Hoaxes-from-Spreading-Raise-Awareness-250801.shtml Almost every day while surfing social media networks, especially Facebook, we come across a large number of scams and hoax messages. Some offer fabulous prizes, some offer outrageous video and others promise a unique feature.

All these scams and hoax messages are malicious, most of them being designed to harm the integrity o... (read more)]]> Mon, 6 Feb 2012 08:06:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Stop-Sick-Children-Hoaxes-from-Spreading-Raise-Awareness-250801.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Stop-Sick-Children-Hoaxes-from-Spreading-Raise-Awareness-250801.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/US-CERT-Warns-About-Anonymous-DDOS-Attacks-249374.shtml Ever since the Megaupload closure, hackers part of the Anonymous collective have been launching distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks against government websites as a form of protest and now, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) released an advisory to help site administrators deal with these campaigns.

&ldq... (read more)]]> Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:39:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/US-CERT-Warns-About-Anonymous-DDOS-Attacks-249374.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/US-CERT-Warns-About-Anonymous-DDOS-Attacks-249374.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Avoid-Stalking-Incidents-Online-248567.shtml We’ve recently seen that stalking and cyber bullying have become a major issue, many Internet users being affected by the phenomenon, but few trusting that local authorities possess the power to do something about it.

Because January is considered the National Stalking Awareness Month, security firm McAfee in collaboration with the Natio... (read more)]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:51:01 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Avoid-Stalking-Incidents-Online-248567.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Avoid-Stalking-Incidents-Online-248567.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Identify-Fake-Lottery-Scams-248570.shtml Since the number of lottery scams recorded a considerable increase and a high rate of success, security companies and their experts are launching awareness raising campaigns to make sure Internet users learn to identify and ignore the malicious claims.

Experts from Kaspersky’s Securelist compared a number of these scams in the effort of high... (read more)]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Identify-Fake-Lottery-Scams-248570.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Identify-Fake-Lottery-Scams-248570.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Beware-of-Distress-Email-Scams-Coming-from-Friends-248469.shtml In December we’ve seen how cybercrooks compromised email addresses and sent out to all the individuals in the victim’s contact list distress emails, claiming they’ve been robbed while vacationing overseas and urgently needing money.

At the time, the numbers of scam emails allegedly coming from friends in distress ... (read more)]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:48:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Beware-of-Distress-Email-Scams-Coming-from-Friends-248469.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Beware-of-Distress-Email-Scams-Coming-from-Friends-248469.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apache-Tomcat-Users-Advised-to-Update-to-Avoid-Hash-DOS-Attacks-247187.shtml The Apache Software developers released an advisory, recommending customers to update their Apache Tomcat software to protect themselves against potential hash denial of service (DOS) attacks.

“Analysis of the recent hash collision vulnerability identified unrelated inefficiencies with Apache Tomcat's handling of... (read more)]]> Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:17:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apache-Tomcat-Users-Advised-to-Update-to-Avoid-Hash-DOS-Attacks-247187.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apache-Tomcat-Users-Advised-to-Update-to-Avoid-Hash-DOS-Attacks-247187.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/SOPA-Blackout-Protest-May-Generate-Scams-247127.shtml Today, on January 18, a lot of major websites, including Google, Reddit and Wikipedia, have shut down their regular activities or posted protest banners to show their solidarity with the anti-SOPA movement. Security experts warn that this may be a great opportunity for cybercriminals to launch their own SOPA-related scams.

Even famous hackti... (read more)]]> Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:46:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/SOPA-Blackout-Protest-May-Generate-Scams-247127.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/SOPA-Blackout-Protest-May-Generate-Scams-247127.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Warn-of-Windows-Security-Phone-Scams-245499.shtml After realizing that in many cases some social engineering can be far more efficient than a piece of malware that looks for zero-day vulnerabilities or unpatched weaknesses, cybercriminals began making phone calls to unsuspecting individuals, warning them of false threats and urging them to install specially crafted software that gives them access to... (read more)]]> Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:35:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Warn-of-Windows-Security-Phone-Scams-245499.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Experts-Warn-of-Windows-Security-Phone-Scams-245499.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/McAfee-Teaches-Parents-How-to-Cyber-Educate-Their-Children-244651.shtml The security solutions provider McAfee released an advisory that teaches parents how to behave around their offspring to make sure they become a good model when it comes to the use of high-tech gadgets and the Internet.

“What child doesn’t want to be just like Mom, Dad or an older sibling?” Stanley Holdit... (read more)]]> Thu, 5 Jan 2012 18:21:02 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/McAfee-Teaches-Parents-How-to-Cyber-Educate-Their-Children-244651.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/McAfee-Teaches-Parents-How-to-Cyber-Educate-Their-Children-244651.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Keep-Your-Credit-Card-Safe-While-Christmas-Shopping-Online-241246.shtml Since many Internet users prefer to avoid all the commotion from the stores and shop for Christmas presents online, it’s very useful to know how to protect a credit card and other sensitive information while doing so.

Android devices, iPads and even good old-fashioned PCs may be utilized these days to do some s... (read more)]]> Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:49:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Keep-Your-Credit-Card-Safe-While-Christmas-Shopping-Online-241246.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Keep-Your-Credit-Card-Safe-While-Christmas-Shopping-Online-241246.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Secure-a-Smartphone-Against-Malicious-QR-Codes-240883.shtml Since QuickResponse (QR) codes are becoming more popular and widespread, allowing smartphone owners to quickly scan them to find out more information on a certain product, cybercriminals noticed this and began placing malicious ones in strategic locations with the purpose of spreading viruses and other pieces of malware.

The guy... (read more)]]> Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:47:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Secure-a-Smartphone-Against-Malicious-QR-Codes-240883.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-to-Secure-a-Smartphone-Against-Malicious-QR-Codes-240883.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs) http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hackers-Launch-Attacks-Using-Zero-Day-Flaw-in-Adobe-Reader-and-Acrobat-238839.shtml Adobe released a security advisory to inform their customers on a flaw that affects Adobe Reader X (10.1.1) and earlier versions, and Adobe Acrobat X (10.1.1) and earlier versions, that could allow an attacker to take over a computing device that runs Windows or Macintosh operating systems.

Adobe Reader 9.4.6 an... (read more)]]> Wed, 7 Dec 2011 08:15:00 GMT Softpedia News - Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hackers-Launch-Attacks-Using-Zero-Day-Flaw-in-Adobe-Reader-and-Acrobat-238839.shtml Advisories http://news.softpedia.com/news/Hackers-Launch-Attacks-Using-Zero-Day-Flaw-in-Adobe-Reader-and-Acrobat-238839.shtml#review_zone Softpedia News (Eduard Kovacs)