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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Internet security

Internet security stories: 45 news summaries

1 - 20 of 45 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

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 Security Site Tots Up What You're Worth
to Hackers

Symantec aims to raise cybercrime awareness

Sep 11, 09 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - A rising number of cybercriminals make their living selling other people's online identities to thieves. Now a new security tool helps you calculate what yours is worth on the black market—and your risk of losing it, IT World reports. The Norton Online Risk Calculator aims to raise awareness of... More »

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hacker • data theft • Symantec • Internet security • cybercrime

New Software Can Delete Emails Permanently

Software scatters encryption keys among temporary BitTorrent nodes

Aug 5, 09 6:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Email is inherently insecure, because it has a long shelf-life—even deleted messages can be stored infinitely on the email service of the sender or recipient. Now a team of scientists is poised to unveil software later this month to make them disappear for keeps, reports the Economist. “Vanish”... More »

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email • BitTorrent • Internet security • computer security • P2P • mall security • encryption • message

(Newser) - Facebook is starting a pilot program to test a more user-friendly version of its sprawling privacy controls, CNET reports. The 40 different settings now occupy six separate pages, and are so complicated that many users ignore them completely. “These can add up and pile up and not be as... More »

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social networking • online advertising • Facebook • online privacy • privacy settings • website • Internet security • World Wide Web

(Newser) - Fear of computer viruses is now one of the major reasons people are getting them in the first place, Reuters reports. According to Microsoft, seven of the 25 top threats come in the form of fake security programs, which users terrified of malware like Conficker are installing indiscriminately. Losing market... More »

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Microsoft • computer virus • Symantec • Internet security • malware • McAfee • Conficker • bogus

 Hackers 
 Breach 
 Monster.com 


4.5M compromised in UK; jobs site unsure how many of 75M worldwide may be affected

Jan 27, 09 1:46 PM CST
(Newser) - Hackers have illegally accessed Monster.com and stolen personal details from an uncertain number of its 75 million users, Bloomberg reports. The hackers snatched user IDs, passwords, contact information and more, though resumes weren’t accessed. Users should be on the lookout for bogus e-mails that appear to come from... More »

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computer virus • job search • Monster.com • Internet security • hackers

Virus Helps Violate 500K
Bank, Credit Accounts

Infects computers through 'drive-by downloads"

Oct 31, 08 4:35 PM CDT
(Newser) - A computer virus has stolen log-in information for over 500,000 bank accounts and credit and debit cards. The Sinowal Trojan virus has infected computers around the world through “drive-by downloads” that install it without users' knowledge when they visit Web sites running the virus code. Individuals can best... More »

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identity theft • computer virus • Internet security • phishing • Trojan viruses • malware • banks • Sinowal

ANALYSIS

Facebook Getting Aggressive With 'Wall Spam'

Service starts playing tough, removing posts

Aug 25, 08 8:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - “Wall spam” has gone from minor annoyance to publicity problem for Facebook, and it seems the social-networking giant is getting more aggressive in its attempts to combat it, reports Caroline McCarthy in CNET. Within 2 hours of receiving a spam post yesterday, McCarthy found it had been deleted by... More »

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social networking • spam • Facebook • Mark Zuckerberg • Internet security

OPINION

 Tips for Candidates 
 on Cyber Security 

Next president must find right balance of regulation for internet safegaurds

Aug 7, 08 4:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - Noting that both candidates have plans to ensure our collective cyber security, Bruce Schneier, in Wired, lays out some essential policy advice for the next president:
  • Use the government’s enormous purchasing power to make security software producers do better. Make security requirements for government software high, and those
... More »

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national security • Internet • markets • Internet security • cybercrime • hacking • computer • cyberspace

'Every Network Is at Risk' Thanks to Bug

Security expert says DNS flaw could cause Internet-wide chaos

Aug 7, 08 8:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - Security researcher Dan Kaminsky outlined what he calls the biggest Internet security hole since 1997 to a gathering of experts yesterday, and it's a lot worse than had been understood, Wired reports. “Every network is at risk,” Kaminsky said at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas. "... More »

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Internet • domain names • Internet security • phishing • Internet domains • cybercrime • Dan Kaminsky

High-Tech 'Trolls' Stalk the Internet, Harrass for Fun

Web subculture has disdain for just about everything

Aug 2, 08 11:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - They gleefully wreak havoc online, tormenting the parents of a teen suicide victim, for example, or causing the website of an epilepsy foundation to flash brilliantly to trigger convulsions. These so-called trolls seek "lulz," or laughs, for their deeds and test the limits of free speech online. One... More »

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Internet • free speech • hacker • Internet security

Domain Name Bug Worries Web Providers

Firms race to fix flaw in Internet's architecture before crooks find it

Jul 30, 08 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - ISPs worldwide are racing to patch a flaw in the design of the Internet that could allow criminals to steal personal and financial details of Web users by diverting them to fake sites. The flaw resides in the procedures of the Domain Name System, which translates URLs into numerical Internet... More »

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Internet • Microsoft • domain names • Internet security • ISP • DNS • World Wide Web

Yahoo Partners With McAfee
to Make Search Safer

Security upgrade part of wider trend in protecting computers from Web's ills

May 6, 08 2:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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Yahoo • Google • computer virus • Internet security • search • malware • McAfee

REVIEW

Among New Browsers, Firefox Bests Safari and IE

Safari isn't good enough vs. spyware and IE is still in development 

Apr 14, 08 6:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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Microsoft • Apple • web browser • Internet Explorer • Safari • Firefox • Internet security • Mozilla • computer memory

Malware Threats
Skyrocketed in 2007

Symantec mulling new security approach

Apr 8, 08 2:51 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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 ... More »

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Symantec • Internet security • phishing • cybercrime • malware

Personalized Security
Protects Laptops

New software adjusts to individuals' behavior

Mar 21, 08 12:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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Internet • Intel • software • research • Internet security • computer security • computer • botnets

Renegade Geek to Head Cyber Security

DHS taps outsider
as Silicon Valley ambassador

Mar 20, 08 2:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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... More »

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Bush administration • cyberterrorism • cyberattack • Department of Homeland Security • Michael Chertoff • Internet security • Rod Beckström

Website Offers Post-Mortem Security

Departed users can leave wills, photos, passwords to family

Mar 14, 08 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - 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.... More »

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Internet • will • death • website • Internet security • encryption • passwords • AssetLock.com • Collin Harris • testament

Free Tool Offers Web Security

Former Microsoft employees run startup Haute Secure

Mar 7, 08 11:12 AM CST
(Newser) - 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... More »

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technology • Internet • Microsoft • Symantec • Internet security • startup • phishing • malware • malicious code • computer code • Haute Secure • McAfee

OPINION

Do We Need A New, Safer Internet?

Patrick Dempsey thinks so, but Ars Technica says no

Feb 29, 08 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - 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,"... More »

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technology • email • web browser • Internet security • operating system • Internet crime • Patrick Dempsey • Internet infrastructure

Data Encryption Isn't So Secure, After All

Researchers find
easy method to steal protected information

Feb 22, 08 1:29 PM CST
(Newser) - 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,... More »

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Princeton University • data theft • Internet security • computer security • encryption • memory chips • computer memory

1 - 20 of 45 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>


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