Emsisoft Emergency Kit now even better at removing malware
Emsisoft has announced the release of Emsisoft Emergency Kit 4.0, its portable bundle of antivirus detection cleanup tools.
The company says a greatly improved cleaning engine based on the commercial Emsisoft Anti-Malware will deliver safer and more thorough removal of threats.
BullGuard launches free online virus scan
One man's virus is often another's legitimate program or cookie, so whatever antivirus software you have installed it's always useful to be able to get a second opinion from time to time. There are already a number of online scans you can use for this and BullGuard is the latest to join the party with today's launch of its own free scanner.
Unlike some of the alternative offerings, BullGuard works by adding a plug-in to your browser. This lets you run the scan at any time with just a single click on a toolbar button so you don't have to remember the website address or where you filed the bookmark. It supports all of the popular browsers too. The scan, which took just a couple of minutes using the Chrome plug-in on my -- not quite as fast as it used to be -- Windows 7 laptop, looks for viruses and checks that your current security is up to date.
New Trojan targets Linux servers
Antivirus company Doctor Web has released its review of virus activity for June. Trojans remain the main threat but the big news is a new version of the Linux.Sshdkit virus designed to steal passwords from Linux servers. It has undergone a number of changes to make it harder for antivirus analysts to intercept stolen passwords.
This follows the trend that we reported last month of attackers becoming more businesslike in their attacks. Although the number of infected Linux servers is small as yet it's a worrying development.
Microsoft rolls out updates for Windows 8.1 Preview
It's Patch Tuesday, which means a new raft of updates for Microsoft's operating systems and software, including seven security patches for Windows 8. For the first time, Microsoft's patch collection also includes updates for Windows 8.1 Preview, the OS refresh the software giant debuted a couple of weeks ago.
If you're running Windows 8.1, you can grab the new updates, dated 9 July, via Windows Update.
Scammers are after the Apple ID I don't have
When I receive an email asking to validate my account info, it is an obvious alert that something is amiss. These frequently come in the guise of PayPal and even banks where I have no account -- a no brainer to hit the delete button. However, as I browsed through my messages while preparing for bed, one caught my attention, not because of variance from other email scams, but because it simply attempted to lure me to a trap I had not encountered previously.
While the likes of PayPal and CitiBank may trade between targets number one and two, this was the first time I had been asked to validate my Apple account -- the one I have never had.
Edward Snowden is a patriot
It's big news and rightly so. Whistleblower Edward Snowden is now the US government's number one enemy. He is called both a traitor and patriot by the public, press, and government officials. His story sparked a debate over where America's best interests lie, whether in freedom or in safety.
The Justice Department is gathering all the information it needs to press a criminal case against Snowden, who has leaked secret documents on the NSA's expansive surveillance programs. From Snowden's leaks, it appears that the agency is increasingly focused on regular American citizens rather than terrorists and suspected criminals.
Vet social networking app privacy settings with MyPermissions Cleaner
With privacy higher than ever on the news agenda, it is not surprising people are starting to wake up to the fact they have happily allowed all kinds of personal information about themselves to appear online. It might be too late to stem the tide, but if you are thinking about reviewing your personal privacy, one place to start might be with the apps added to various social networks.
If this idea appeals, then desktop users should install one of MyPermissions Cleaner for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari, while iPhone and Android users can go with Online Privacy Shield -- once done, you are ready to start taking action to tighten privacy settings.
The Curator: Why Microsoft is forcing us on to Modern UI apps
I've been struggling for a good year now with Microsoft's decision to push users as hard as it is pushing them to use the new, modern user interface, what was once code-named Metro. Even in Windows 8.1 (formerly known as Windows Blue), it is the primary UI. Why is Microsoft forcing us to use it?
"Forcing" is perhaps too strong of a word I suppose (although it's a good one for a headline). You can continue to run conventional Windows programs -- hell, even text-mode console software -- and keep using a traditional computer with a keyboard and mouse, but they're all legacy now, at least for Modern UI apps.
Bitdefender Total Security 2014 review
When you buy a program with “Total” in the name then you probably expect a very complete feature list, and Bitdefender Total Security 2014 certainly does not disappoint in this regard: the suite offers antivirus, firewall, anti-spam, browsing and social networking protection, privacy tools, parental controls, online storage, anti-theft service, PC tuneup module and more.
And although some people prefer to ignore the frills and assess security packages on their core essentials, Bitdefender does just as well here. An AV-TEST report on Bitdefender Internet Security 2013, for instance, shows it detecting 100% of the test malware samples -- this program is strong on the basics, too.
Emsisoft Anti-Malware 8.0 improves cleaning, reduces memory usage
Emsisoft of Thalgau, Austria, released Emsisoft Anti-Malware 8.0, a major new version of its dual-engine protection tool for Windows. It is designed to run alongside existing security products and offer extra lines of defences against malware.
Version 8.0, which uses BitDefender's scanning engine alongside Emsisoft's own, promises to cut memory usage for faster, leaner performance, improved malware cleaning, user-interface tweaks and more.
Microsoft's experience shows us what to expect from Oracle's Java 'security push'
It has been a very rough year for Java from a security point of view.
Two-thousand thirteen started with a number of zero-day attacks targeting Java, including those that resulted in breaches at Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Twitter. As the year went on, the Department of Homeland Security and others recommended disabling or even uninstalling Java. Apple went so far as to effectively block the Java 7 web plugins twice in one month on OS X. As the security situation around Java seemed to deteriorate, the criticism of and frustration with Oracle continued to increase.
Pale Moon 20.2 delivers improved security and visuals
Moonchild Productions has released Pale Moon 20.2 and Pale Moon x64 20.2 for Windows. Also available in portable 32-bit and 64-bit forms, this performance-enhanced Firefox variant continues to base itself on an older build (version 20), despite the release of Firefox 22 FINAL.
Version 20.2 includes identical functionality to Firefox 20, which means developments in later versions of the popular opens-source browser, such as fully enabled WebRTC and social API extensions are not included here. This isn't surprising, as Pale Moon purposefully leaves the latter switched off by default as part of its commitment to deliver a more secure and speedier browsing experience.
Let's work together -- viruses collaborate to survive
Microsoft research has uncovered a pair of viruses that work together to make them harder to remove from infected computers. Malware researcher Hyun Choi revealed the news in a TechNet blogpost.
The Vobfus virus spreads through infected website links or via removable or mapped network drives. Once installed on a system it downloads the Beebone virus which enrols the machine in a botnet. After this the two pieces of malware work together to download the latest versions of each, making them harder to detect and remove and allowing them to maintain a presence on infected systems.
Security and the ‘if it ain't broke don't fix it’ mentality
"Why should I have to replace a computer that's working, even if it's 10 years old?"
That's not me speaking, it's a relative whose identity I'll protect (not that he would really care). There's a foundation of solid logic behind this argument, at least at first glance. The things I bought this computer for 10 years ago are things I do with it still, and it works. So why should I change it? It's possible -- not likely, but possible -- that this argument makes sense. But only if you're cut off from the world.
Bitdefender’s Total Security 2014 now faster, adds password manager
Bitdefender has released its 2014 products, including new versions of Antivirus Plus, Internet Security and Total Security.
All editions now include Bitdefender’s new Photon technology, which it’s claimed "tailor-fits to each user’s computer for fast scanning, a quicker boot time, smooth interaction with apps and the same award-winning detection rate".
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