InformationWeek Security News

Rolling Review: LANDesk Patch Manager

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The fourth entry in our patch management Rolling Review, LANDesk Patch Manager, is a cross-platform offering that, again, relies on agents. Are you sensing a theme here?

Facebook 'Connect' To Let Users Share Profiles

Fri, 9 May 2008 20:06:00 EDT

Following MySpace's lead, Facebook's upcoming service includes user-maintained controls for basic profile information, photos, personal videos, and friend lists.

Microsoft To Release Office 2007 SP1 Via Automatic Update In June

Fri, 9 May 2008 19:05:00 EDT

The strategy of rolling out service packs in phases gives the market plenty of time to evaluate the software.

Phishing Campaign Targets Tax Rebate Checks

Fri, 9 May 2008 16:24:00 EDT

The phishing messages claim that the fastest way to receive one's economic stimulus tax rebate is through direct deposit and include a Web link to an online submission form.

Internet Users Help Nab Accused Child Predator

Fri, 9 May 2008 14:41:00 EDT

Interpol credits Internet users with helping to identify and locate a suspected child predator, who was arrested in New Jersey.

Microsoft Plans Four Security Fixes For Upcoming Patch Tuesday

Fri, 9 May 2008 14:15:00 EDT

The critical flaws affect Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Windows respectively.

ID Theft Monitoring Services: What You Need To Know

Fri, 9 May 2008 04:00:00 EDT

Fee-based services say they'll protect your identity, privacy, credit, name, and more. Find out what they can and can not do -- and learn what you can do to defend yourself.

Windows Vista More Vulnerable To Malware Than Windows 2000

Thu, 8 May 2008 19:20:49 EDT

Vista let 639 threats per thousand computers through, compared with 586 for Windows 2000, 478 for Windows 2003, and 1,021 for Windows XP, security vendor PC Tools said.

DARPA Plans Cyberwar 'Matrix'

Thu, 8 May 2008 18:55:00 EDT

The agency's National Cyber Range for cyberwar simulation would be similar to Star Trek's holodeck or a Snow Crash-style Metaverse.

MySpace To Share User Profiles With Other Sites

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:50:00 EDT

Yahoo, eBay, Photobucket, and Twitter have joined the site's "data-availability initiative" using OAuth integration technology.

FBI Withdraws Probe Of Wayback Machine Users

Thu, 8 May 2008 15:40:00 EDT

The settlement stems from a lawsuit claiming the FBI's request for information about the Internet Archive's Web library violated the First Amendment.

TorrentSpy Ordered To Pay $110 Million In Piracy Case

Thu, 8 May 2008 14:54:00 EDT

The Motion Picture Association of America announced that it won a permanent injunction against the site for distribution of pirated video.

Google Cuts Price, Rebrands Postini Security Service

Thu, 8 May 2008 14:39:00 EDT

Google has slashed the cost of its security service by 40% and added an optional protection feature for public Wi-Fi users in its continued efforts to lure businesses to Google Apps.

Facebook Commits To Stronger Safety And Privacy Measures

Thu, 8 May 2008 14:20:00 EDT

Facebook is working with state officials to protect young users of its social networking service.

Climate Researchers Tap 4,000-Chip IBM Supercomputer

Thu, 8 May 2008 13:50:00 EDT

Scientists will use the Bluefire computer to model drought patterns, agricultural seasons, global warming, and hurricane development.

Think Over Data's Value When Deciding What To Store

Thu, 8 May 2008 09:00:00 EDT

A report from the Society of Information Management says it is just as important to figure out what data you can throw out as it is to decide what to store.

Hackers Join Social Network Craze With 'House Of Hackers'

Wed, 7 May 2008 19:00:00 EDT

GnuCitizen's site promotes exchanging ideas through elite circles and tiger/red teams, but frowns on all criminal activities.

Congressman Seeks Second Life Ban In Schools, Libraries

Wed, 7 May 2008 15:49:00 EDT

Illinois' Mark Kirk hopes to quash online sex predators lurking around the virtual world by reviving the 2006 Deleting Online Predators Act.

911 Services Can't Handle Advanced Wireless Devices, Services

Wed, 7 May 2008 15:47:00 EDT

The 911 Industry Alliance says there is a problem because most call centers are analog and digital data isn't delivered.

Windows XP SP3 Now Available For Public Download

Wed, 7 May 2008 14:59:00 EDT

The service pack contains all the updates issued since SP2 was released in 2004, as well as new elements, including several borrowed from Vista.

Fake MP3 Trojan Detected On 27% Of PCs

Wed, 7 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

McAfee Avert Labs says more than half a million of the adware programs disguised as media files have been detected in less than a week.

Hacker Kept On NDS Payroll After Accused Of Piracy

Wed, 7 May 2008 10:19:44 EDT

A high-ranking News Corp. official testified Tuesday that he kept two hackers on the payroll for years after one of them was accused of infiltrating the security system of rival satellite television company Dish Network.

Piracy Becomes Focus Of Net Neutrality Debate

Tue, 6 May 2008 16:45:00 EDT

The Recording Industry Association of America weighed in on the Internet traffic management issue at a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday.

Yahoo Partners With McAfee To Make Search More Secure

Tue, 6 May 2008 14:54:00 EDT

The collaboration covers Web site security issues, such as identifying sites associated with adware, malware, spyware, phishing, and spam.

Web Firm Sounds Alert On Criminal Data Trove

Tue, 6 May 2008 14:35:10 EDT

A Web security firm said on Tuesday it had tipped off international banks and police after finding a huge trove of stolen business and personal data amassed on a server in the space of just three weeks.

'Terrorists' Legal Team' Sues Abu Ghraib Contractors

Tue, 6 May 2008 14:18:00 EDT

The Center for Constitutional Rights alleges tech outsourcers at the Iraqi prison committed torture and other war crimes during a civilian interrogation.

Desktop Virtualization Drives Security, Not Just Dollar Savings

Sat, 3 May 2008 00:01:50 EDT

Infosec pros who don't take a stand on virtualizing their companies' desktops are missing a prime opportunity to boost safety while aiding manageability and compliance.

Best Of The Best: Awards At Interop Honor Tech Innovation

Sat, 3 May 2008 00:01:00 EDT

Top honor goes to Palo Alto Networks for its next-generation firewall; other standouts include Vidyo for its videoconferencing suite and Foundry Networks for its eco-friendly approach to manufacturing.

ID Security Firm LifeLock Sued For Misleading Marketing

Fri, 2 May 2008 17:30:00 EDT

LifeLock CEO Todd Davis says his service, while not 100% bulletproof, is an effective deterrent to identity theft.

Spam Turns 30 And Never Looked Healthier

Fri, 2 May 2008 14:05:00 EDT

One e-mail security company estimates that spam, initially a nuisance, now makes up 95% of all e-mail.

Warez Site Operator Sentenced To 30 Months

Thu, 1 May 2008 15:38:00 EDT

Prosecutors said David Fish's sentencing is linked to the largest and most successful global criminal enforcement actions ever taken against organized piracy.

Judge Rejects RIAA's Music Copyright Infringement, Distribution Claims

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:05:00 EDT

Merely making copies of music available does not equal distribution, or primary copyright infringement, the judge said.

Google Warns Users About Phishing

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:30:00 EDT

In advising users to be wary of clicking on links in e-mail messages or responding to requests for personal information, Google is trying to protect its own business.

Former UCLA Health Employee Charged With Selling Celeb Records To Media

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:50:00 EDT

The U.S. District Court indictment against a former administrative assistant does not appear related to leaks of Britney Spears' health information this year.

Microsoft Again Delays Windows XP SP3 Release

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EDT

Microsoft is holding up the software update's release, this time after finding a compatibility issue with an electronic checkout system for retailers.

Oracle Database Susceptible To Rare Attack

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:00:00 EDT

"A lateral SQL injection" attack that can be placed by an outsider in a database application using Oracle's extended PL/SQL query language can be prevented, security experts say.

Microsoft Blames Poor Coding Practices For Massive SQL Injection Attack

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:20:00 EDT

U.S. CERT recommends disabling JavaScript and ActiveX because of attacks that have compromised legitimate Web sites using Microsoft IIS Web Server and Microsoft SQL Server.

Forrester Predicts Slow Year For Government IT Spending

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:27:00 EDT

The report found that 43% of governments are working with flat budgets this year, while 40% have bigger budgets than last year.

Sneak Peek At Our Third Annual NAC Reader Survey

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:01:30 EDT

Our readers say the network access control market has lost much of the momentum it had last year. But don't count it out just yet.

Web 2.0: Whatever Google Knows About Spam, It Isn't Saying

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:42:00 EDT

Trust and reputation systems are a great way to reduce spam, but Google avoids talk of an ongoing flood of malware-infected porn on Google Groups pages.

Zero-Day Vulnerability Reported in Apple's QuickTime for Windows XP and Vista

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:40:00 EDT

Security consultancy GNUCitizen says an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by constructing a specially crafted QuickTime supported media file that allows remote code execution.

Think Tanks Propose National Innovation Foundation

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Such a foundation would serve as a catalyst between industry and university researchers and seek to expand regional innovation through state governments.

Interop Preview: Tech Industry Gets Ready To Rumble

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:00:00 EDT

The nation's leading business technology event, Interop, gains added breadth this year as it is co-located with Software 2008, an event aimed at software developers, users, and industry executives.

Small And Midsize Businesses' IT Security Budgets 'Recession-Proof'

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Despite overall economic difficulties, survey respondents say they still plan to invest in technology this year.

Microsoft Developers Weigh In On Live Mesh

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:44:00 EDT

Microsoft MVPs say that they hope Microsoft can deliver on the big promises it's making with its software-plus-services development platform.

Border Agents Can Search Laptops Without Cause, Court Rules

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:39:00 EDT

The 3-0 decision is likely to extend to cell phones and other personal electronic devices.

Security Vulnerabilities Reported At Obama, Clinton Web Sites

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:46:00 EDT

Researchers said cross-site scripting problems found on the sites could result in anything from a harmless pop-up window to exposure to malicious software.

Infected Web Pages Nearly Triple

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Sophos says that it discovered a new infected Web page every 5 seconds. In 2007, the company says, it saw new infected Web pages every 14 seconds.

Windows XP SP3 Embedded Not Coming In April

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

A Microsoft official would only say that Service Pack 3 for the Embedded version of Windows XP will come "at a later date."

Windows XP SP3 Set For Release, Microsoft Says

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:20:00 EDT

The service pack includes all updates issued since Windows XP Service Pack 2 was released in 2004, and some new elements.