If your trial version of the antivirus software that came preloaded on your computer has expired, has become out-of-date, or you were hoping to do without the protection (and cost) – think again. According to Microsoft’s latest Security Intelligence Report, “computers without antivirus software are 5.5 times more likely to be infected.”
In the race to the starting line, BlackBerry pulled out all the stops in order to deliver an app library that's 70,000 strong, but now the firm's looking to Trend Micro in an effort to keep malicious software at bay. Specifically, the phone maker will begin scanning all current and future BlackBerry World apps with the Trend Micro Mobile Application Reputation Service, a cloud-based solution that'll exist alongside BlackBerry's current security measures. In addition to scanning the code of an app, the service will watch for fishy behavior such as excess battery drain and abnormal resource consumption.
Alongside this announcement, BlackBerry also hinted about a service from Trend Micro that scans URLs, emails and files for potential threats. It's currently unclear whether implementation of this service would require some form of software update, but given the privacy implications at play, it'll be interesting to learn whether end users can disable the feature. Power to the people, right?
Whether you saw a message saying a virus was detected or your computer seems slow and unreliable, this guide will walk you through the process of dealing with your infection and removing the malware.
While many viruses and other types of malware are designed simply to cause chaos, more and more malware is used by organized crime to steal credit card numbers and other sensitive data.
If you thought your phone was virus-proof, think again.
Smartphones are essentially portable personal computers. And while their operating systems are in many ways more modern and secure than desktop-computer operating systems, they're still vulnerable.
How vulnerable? Last year, researchers detected 24,794 threats to mobile phones, according to security-software vendor NQ Mobile.
That's a staggering 16-fold increase from the 1,649 threats discovered in 2009.
Granted, security-software firms have a vested interest in releasing alarming statistics. But they also have the best frontline experience in dealing with threats. So we spoke to Gavin Kim, NQ Mobile's chief product officer, to learn more.
Malware is a worldwide problem. If there is electricity, an Internet connection and a computer, there will be viruses, worms, Trojans and other sneaky programs trying to gain access to your computer. Where do these nasty creatures come from?
A large percentage of the world’s malware comes from China. According to AlienVault’s Open Threat Exchange platform, China is the capital of malicious Internet addresses, based on 95,249 addresses analyzed. The United States comes in second with 60,346, well ahead of the third, fourth and fifth malware vectors: South Korea (16,115), Russia (13,367) and Taiwan (12,504).
How is this malware being delivered? The average virus wants to find its way into computers. Direct injection (where a virus is not hidden in a different type of file) is fairly rare. Far more commonly, malware hitches a ride on an otherwise benign file. This is the reason why security programs scan all files downloaded to a computer. The top malware-infested file type is .exe, the most common file type for a Windows program.
As the father of two young teens, I often worry about where my kids’ Internet searches might inadvertently take them or what viruses they might download by innocently clicking on an unsecured webpage or by clicking on a malware-laden spam e-mail attachment.
There's a phony version of Instagram for Android floating around containing malware that can access your text messages, according to security research firm Sophos.
TNW picked up the Sophos report.
Sophos says the fake Instagram app is available on a few websites, including one based in Russia.
The app pretends to be a fully-functional version of Instagram, but doesn't always connect to the photo-sharing service's network.
The best way to protect yourself from accidentally downloading the fake Instagram app is to only use the official Google Play market on your phone.
Cybercrimes are becoming more mobile.
As more smartphones and tablets are being used, cyberthieves aren't just targeting personal computers to steal information for financial gain, antivirus security experts say.
Android's surge in popularity has triggered an accompanying surge in malware aimed at the mobile OS, says a new study today from Fortinet.
Malware targeted toward Android devices continues to surge, says a new report from McAfee, pushing 2011 to become the busiest year in history for both mobile and general malware.
Juniper Networks is reporting a shocking 472 percent increase in the incidence of Android malware since July of this year. What's going on, and is Android becoming a malware writer's dream?
