Defender

Microsoft is unveiling a beta of the next version of its Security Essentials anti-malware program and is hunting for people who can give it a test drive.

Users interested in trying out the beta can officially register at the sign-up page. A Microsoft Live account is required, and the company promises to send out e-mails when the beta is available to download.

The number of initial beta testers required will be limited, according to a recent Microsoft blog. But the company expects to release the beta to the general public by year's end.

Microsoft is touting several new features … Read more

Microsoft is including a beefier version of its malware protection in Windows 8.

The company is tweaking its Windows Defender tool, which has been part of the last few versions of Windows, by essentially adding some of the more robust features from its free Security Essentials product. Launched in 2009, Security Essentials has garnered generally positive reviews but requires a separate download, while the built-in Windows Defender has lacked certain key elements as a defense against malware.

At a demo of Windows 8's security at Microsoft's Build conference on Tuesday posted by The Register, Steven Sinofsky, president of … Read more

This week, our Frankfurt auto show preview. Volkswagen finds the only direction is up, Land Rover ends tea time to update a 25 year old model, and Yo-Auto redesigns the car door.

• Aha Radio and Slacker join forces to add beats to your tweets

• Volkswagen to showcase Up at Frankfurt auto show

• Land Rover concept heralds Defender update

• Infiniti mystery concept for Frankfurt

• New Porsche 911 shows up with seven-speed manual

Bitdefender has updated its suites for the coming year, and it says it has done it in part by adopting a bit of Romanian lore. Although, to be honest, it may also sound familiar to fans of George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series. Available exclusively today from CNET Download.com, Bitdefender Total Security 2012 (download), Bitdefender Internet Security 2012 (download), and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2012 (download) were improved in part by taking on the "philosophy based on mythical wolf-dragon from Romania," said Matt Hicks, the company's global public relations manager. The wolf-dragon, he said, … Read more

Microsoft's wants more money from Android; a new tablet could cost you less money; and a lightning round Q and A session of your questions from Twitter.

NEWS

M$ wants $15/Android handset from Samsung http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20077173-17/report-microsoft-wants-$15-per-android-handset/

Motorola, Toshiba Android tablets go below $500 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20077260-64/motorola-toshiba-android-tablets-go-below-$500/

Kyocera’s Echo isn’t as fragile as it seems http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skkP0bEsyeU CNET Review: http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/kyocera-echo-sprint/4505-6452_7-34498252.html… Read more

Small World for iPad is the two-player iOS adaptation of the popular European-style board game Small World, a whimsically designed, fast-playing game with a little bit of luck and a lot of strategy.

Small World for iPad looks and plays great, with the same board, artwork, and rules as the tabletop version. This exceptions-based game is relatively complex to learn: players compete to dominate the Small World map with randomly assigned combinations of races (for example, Trolls, Skeletons, or Amazons) and special powers (for example, Flying, Wealthy, or Alchemist). Each combination starts with a set number of tokens, which you … Read more

Apple's latest security update implements new malware definitions for Apple's XProtect feature to notify users if they have downloaded or installed the latest malware scams that target OS X users. In addition to locating and removing these threats, Apple has implemented a method to keep the malware definitions updated on a daily basis so users do not have to keep installing security updates to address these threats. While users can wait a day to have the system update the malware definitions, there are a couple of other options people can do to force an update to the malware … Read more

The MacDefender developers are continuing to uphold their criminal attempts to steal Mac users' information by changing the name of their scam software yet again. So far they have been using the naming scheme of the word "Mac" followed by a security-related word such as Defender, Security, or Protector. The latest name to be used for this software is MacShield, and as with the other names appears to be a drop-in change to the same interface used in the other malware. Unfortunately, beside being confusing to users, this naming scheme is adversely affecting legitimate Mac developers who have … Read more

Apple is updating Mac OS X Snow Leopard systems with protection against the latest variant of MacDefender, after criminals wrote a new version of MacDefender to circumvent the OS X malware detection added earlier this week.

A new entry for "OSX.MacDefender.C" is being pushed out via automatic updates to the Xprotect.plist file that contains the signatures for identifying malware, according to a report published by Italian Web site Spider-Mac.

The malware writers are likely to continue creating new variants, but Apple appears willing and able to try to stay on top of them.

MacDefender is … Read more