virus

Crippling Stuxnet virus infected Chevron's network too

Stuxnet, the sophisticated computer virus that attacked a nuclear enrichment facility in Iran two years ago, also inadvertently infected Chevron's network.

Reportedly created by the U.S. and Israel, the highly destructive worm was designed to infect Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. Rather than steal data, Stuxnet left a back door meant to be accessed remotely to allow outsiders to stealthily knock the facility offline and at least temporarily cripple Iran's nuclear program.

The oil giant discovered the malware in July 2010 after the virus escaped from its intended target, Mark Koelmel, Chevron's general manager of the … Read more

Free antivirus and malware scanner from a trusted name

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition is a simple-to-use antivirus and malware product for the Mac. Based on the Sophos antivirus line, Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition is free and designed for those who need coverage on their Macs, but don't want to spend a lot of time and money. Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition is a download from the publisher, not available in the App Store when we tested.

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition lets you tailor the way it behaves to some extent. It can work quietly in the background, taking care of most … Read more

T-Mobile beefs up Android security with malware protection

T-Mobile is aiming to fortify the Android smartphones and tablets it carries by offering users free protection against malware and viruses.

The company announced today that it is partnering with mobile security company Lookout to help T-Mobile customers protect their devices with a product called Automatic App Security. The software will come preloaded on certain devices this year, and then T-Mobile will roll it out to most Android devices in 2013.

"As we rely more on our mobile devices, for everything from business to social to banking, it is increasingly important that we protect them from threats," CEO … Read more

Add antivirus protection to your firewall with ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus Plus Firewall

ZoneAlarm has long been perhaps the most popular free firewall available, and millions have used it to block unwanted access to their computers. ZoneAlarm generally works well with antivirus software, too, but perhaps you'd be interested in a free antivirus solution that actually incorporates ZoneAlarm's firewall? That's CheckPoint's ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus Plus Firewall. ZoneAlarm Antivirus not only protects your system from unwanted intrusions, viruses, and other malware, but it also includes anti-phishing, site authentication, identity protection, and download management features. It's also available as a premium package. The free tool lacks the premium version's … Read more

Free antivirus software but not as solid as we would like

Bitdefender Virus Scanner is an antivirus scanner for the iMac and MacBook that employs the well-known Bitdefender engine and signature files in the Mac environment. Notably, it can also detect Windows viruses in emulation and virtual windows. With hourly virus signature upgrades, Bitdefender Virus Scanner can monitor your system in real time.

Bitdefender Virus Scanner installs easily enough. The interface looks similar to almost every other antivirus product on the market for Mac and Windows machines, with the ability to trigger an on-demand scan or set it up for continuous monitoring. A Fast Scan capability for typical attack points, as … Read more

Newly IDed 'MiniFlame' malware targets individuals for attack

A new form of state-sponsored malware is making the rounds, this one apparently designed specifically to spy on its victims.

Dubbed "MiniFlame" by Kapersky Lab, but also known as SPE, the new malware variant is similar to the Flame virus that targeted computers in the Middle East this past summer. But MiniFlame is a cyber espionage program that can take over where Flame leaves off.

As described by Kaspersky:

First, Flame or Gauss are used to infect as many victims as possible to collect large quantities of information. After data is collected and reviewed, a potentially interesting victim … Read more

Norton 2013 offers good Windows 8 support, but struggles on benchmarks

Review: Symantec has moved Norton 360 to the same release schedule as Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus, making them into a three-tiered strategy for consumer security. Norton AntiVirus is the entry-level product, with Norton Internet Security occupying the middle rung and Norton 360 aimed at people who want the most bang for the most buck.

Notoriously slow to respond to trends, the consumer security field is surprisingly not taking Windows 8 lying down. Norton and many of its competitors are optimizing their suites for Microsoft's new operating system ahead of its release, and Norton is combining that strategy … Read more

Will tweaks keep F-Secure competitive?

A firewall that boosts outbound protection, browser protection that almost doesn't care which browser is your favorite, and compatibility with Microsoft's big October gamble are the highlights of F-Secure's 2013 suites, released today.

There's actually quite a few changes to F-Secure Anti-Virus 2013 (download) and F-Secure Internet Security 2013 (download) this year, but nearly all of them are focused on enhancing security already in last year's suites -- as opposed to providing entirely new features.

The most notable changes in F-Secure come to how it interacts with your Web browser, and how its firewall works … Read more

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 earns its keep by keeping you safe

Like other premium security tools, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 offers unique extras to counter the many free antivirus tools available, most of which offer similar levels of basic protection to Bitdefender but in stripped-down packages that sometimes leave you wanting (and needing) more. In addition to powerful antivirus protection, Bitdefender's features list includes antiphishing, parental controls, firewall, secure online storage, ID security, USB device security, process behavior monitoring (to predict and counter zero-day threats based on anomalous system behavior), and a vulnerability scanner. Other tools have similar features, so Bitdefender ups the ante with extras like SafePay, which secures … Read more

Protect your USB drives and data with USB Disk Security

USB disks let you add unlimited storage to your desktop or laptop (especially laptops!) for movies, songs, images, backups, and other bulky data. USB thumbdrives and portable storage devices let you carry gigabytes of data with you. The USB interface means compatibility with almost every PC. And here's the problem: huge capacity, total portability, universal compatibility, and absolute indispensability work together to render your USB disks and devices especially vulnerable to viruses and other malware. USB Disk Security from Zbshareware Lab is an effective solution for securing your USB disks and data. This easy-to-use shareware is widely compatible with … Read more