Stories related to: Internet security

Yahoo search will now label risky sites, including spyware and virus hosts and spammers, thanks to an exclusive deal with McAfee SiteAdvisor, the companies said today. It also will omit sites entirely that attack visiting computers, reports CNet. Yahoo sees millions of clicks through to some such sites daily, a rep said, and expects the changes to significantly advance security. More »

Mozilla, Apple, and Microsoft are in the final stages of developing new versions of their Web browsers, and Firefox 3 is the winner over spyware-susceptible Safari 3.1 and work-in-progress IE 8. The new Mozilla product has outstanding memory management and speed, boasts great groundbreaking bookmark features, and is impressively secure, Erik Larkin writes in PC World . More »

Last year saw an explosion in malware threats that has Symantec considering a new approach to Internet security—“whitelisting” legitimate computer code rather than blacklisting known threats. Of 1.1 million threats the company has discovered in over 25 years, it uncovered almost two-thirds of them in 2007, Computerworld reports. Symantec blames the escalation on the emergence of efficient malware-creating organizations. More »

A new laptop security system in development at Intel learns to adjust to you—that is, the user—getting to know your pattern of Internet use in order to provide more personalized protection. The software, called Proteus, is meant for companies that provide laptops to many employees, normally equipping all of them with the same cookie-cutter security system, reports Technology Review . More »

Outre tech entrepreneur Rod Beckström will top the White House’s new secretive cyber security initiative, the Wall Street Journal reports, to the surprise of many Washington insiders. Beckström is a Silicon Valley transplant without security experience, but he has developed a cult following in the security and intelligence communities for his book The Starfish and the Spider , which favors decentralized management. More »

Think of it as a safe deposit box for the dearly departed: A website in California allows subscribers to store digital versions of important stuff—wills, photos, credit card numbers, bicycle lock combinations, you name it—so beneficiaries don't have to scramble after the funeral, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Sounds farfetched, but AssetLock.net soon expects to have 1 million American and international clients. More »

A new free system designed to protect Web surfers from dangerous code is taking on the software security giants, reports the Wall Street Journal . Developers say Haute Secure, the brainchild of ex-Microsoft security experts, blocks Web pages embedded with malicious code. The public can download the program free, and companies who want their Web sites scanned for problem code will pay a fee. More »

Online debate exploded after former FBI agent Patrick Dempsey said Wednesday that a second, safer Internet is needed. "The same positives that the Internet provides for information sharing, also create negatives in terms of ‘bringing to task' those that wish to use the Internet for illicit purposes," wrote Dempsey. But Nate Anderson in Ars Technica argues security and accountability are software and human problems, not Internet ones. More »

Accessing encrypted data can be as simple as chilling a computer memory chip, according to a Princeton research group. The researchers were able to break through encryption in Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems, reports the New York Times , calling into question the security methods that companies, government agencies, and individuals use to protect data. More »

In a test of a long-anticipated medical-records program, Google will offer up to 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic the chance to create an online medical profile, making it easier for them to share information with doctors or pharmacies, the Wall Street Journal reports today. In the pilot program, patients will be able to access data in the clinic's records system, such as prescriptions, conditions, and allergies, and control what goes into the profile. More »

The severed Internet cable in the Persian Gulf was the work of a 5.5-ton ship’s anchor, the AP reports. A crew from the FLAG telecommunications company, which owns the cable, found the anchor near Dubai and hauled it up; how the cut occurred is still unexplained. The incident spawned Internet-usage problems through the Middle East and areas of Asia. More »

While he’s been called a computer genius, the access Jerome Kerviel obtained to the Société Générale’s systems was probably the result of terrible IT security, writes PC World, not a successful hack of the French bank’s computers. Managing a bank’s passwords is a task often given to the lowest-level IT employee, which Kerviel was before his infamous stint as a futures trader. More »

Odds are good that your bank has, at some point, asked for your mother’s maiden name. Security questions are as ubiquitous, Slate’ s Josh Levin writes, as they are absurd. Coming up with easy-to-remember, but hard-to-guess, questions is nearly impossible. Paris Hilton’s account, for example, was hacked when someone divined her favorite pet’s name. More »

MySpace will add protections to prevent abuse by sexual predators, officials of several states said today. The social networking company reached an agreement with 49 states over concerns about predators contacting children through its popular site. MySpace will also join a working group aimed at developing new technologies, such as age verification, and that other sites will be invited as well, the AP reports. More »

The TSA awarded a website design and maintenance contract to a firm with whom an administration official had close personal and professional ties, ComputerWorld reports. The site, meant to handle individual requests to have names removed from the TSA’s no-fly list, lacked even rudimentary encryption mechanisms and was not hosted on government servers, making it a ID theft risk. More »

Japan has taken a relaxed approach to controlling the Internet in the past, but the government is planning to ratchet up regulation, Ars Technica reports. The communications ministry is looking at ways to bring web and mobile content in line with heavily regulated traditional media. Concerns are high about libelous slurs on the net and youngsters viewing pornography. More »

Malware is trumping anti-virus apps these days, and even using them to stay ahead of security teams. A recent test by PC World reported that security suites spotted only one in four infiltrators because "the bad guys have the element of surprise," one McAfee expert said. "Bad guys" also test viruses on freeware sites like VirusTotal.com, which scans iffy files against 30 antivirus apps; if the virus passes, it's sure to confound experts for days. More »

Australian Internet users are getting wary about new regulations meant to keep minors away from mature content, Ars Technica reports. A stringent new ratings system to be introduced in January is meant to stop kids from accessing adult-oriented content, but critics say it will be child's play to get around, and means adults will have to surrender some privacy. More »

A federal satellite-surveillance program will move one step closer to reality this week with the expected release of its new charter, the Wall Street Journal reports. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who is spearheading the project, will also reveal plans for a $15 billion program to protect the country’s Internet infrastructure. Both programs have been under fire for their potential compromise of privacy. More »

Internet phishers are using shorter Web addresses to make their sites seem more legitimate, says IBM's online-security division. The group observed fraudulent URLs dropping from 30-37 characters to an average of 17, reports CNET. "The fact that they felt the need to make this move suggests that they were seeing diminishing returns," said an IBM specialist.  More »