Data Privacy Day is an international holiday that marked its 10th anniversary on Saturday, January 28th. Created in 2007 by the Council of Europe, Data Privacy Day was adopted by the U.S. a few years later. This day is meant to remind people of the importance of data privacy and...
What is the Heartbleed bug?
What is the Heartbleed bug? This “bug” is not a virus or malware. The Heartbleed bug is a security flaw that was discovered in OpenSSL encryption that is used on almost every website on the internet to encrypt their data. It is not just affecting individuals, or certain targets, but...
The Trade-Off: Sacrificing Internet Security for Convenience and Privacy for Popularity
Every day when I look at the news I am bewildered by the contradictory nature of society. On one hand, we pay for things like LifeLock, Anti-Virus software, firewalls, encryption and software that makes us anonymous to provide Internet security for our information and to protect our privacy. We use paper...
What is Java and why do I need to install a Java update?
It is critical to keep your computer software up-to-date in order to protect your computer from as much malicious software (viruses, etc.) as possible and that includes putting in Java updates. What is Java? Java was first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. It is a computer programming language and...
New Variety of Malware Dubbed Ransomware Attempts to Extort Money from Unwary Internet Users
Whatever you do, don't follow the payment instructions for any ransomware! The Internet Crime Complaint Center (which is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center) has recently been made aware of a new variety of malware (MALicous softWARE) used to deliver ransomware...
Windows DLL load hijacking exploits go wild and plant malware on PCs!
Less than 24 hours after Microsoft said it couldn't patch Windows to fix a systemic problem, attack code showed up to exploit the company's software. A security firm that's been researching the issue for the past nine months said 41 of Microsoft's own programs can be remotely exploited using DLL...
Fake browser warnings dupe users into downloading ‘scareware’!
Fake Browser "Scareware" Scam Scammers are spoofing the anti-malware warnings of popular browsers to dupe Windows users into downloading fake security software, Symantec said Monday. According to the FBI, rogue security makers have made at least $150 million by duping the public! Little wonder, then, that the fake security software...
Security secrets that might help you thwart the bad guys.
You already know the basics of internet security, right? You know to keep your antivirus program and patches up to date, to be careful where you go on the Internet, and to exercise online street-smarts to resist being tricked into visiting a phishing site or downloading a Trojan horse. But...
Update: Attackers exploit critical bug in Adobe’s Flash and Reader
Critical Bug in Adobe Products Last week, Adobe warned that attackers are exploiting a critical vulnerability in the company's most widely-used software: Flash Player and Adobe Reader. The zero-day vulnerability is reminiscent of one Adobe disclosed and patched in July 2009, and comes just days after the company's head of...
Sneaky Tabnapping Browser Phishing Tactic Surfaces
A new, incredibly sneaky identity-theft tactic surfaced earlier this week when Mozilla's Aza Raskin, the creative lead of Firefox, unveiled what's become known as "tabnapping" that can dupe users into giving up passwords by secretly changing already-open browser tabs. It is a tabnapping browser phishing scam. Stated simply, tabnapping -- from...