viruses

McAfee on Monday released its 2008 line of security products, including McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008, McAfee Internet Security 2008, and McAfee Total Protection 2008.

In a move that McAfee hopes will distinguish it from the competition, the company is now offering three user licenses for all its desktop products, and is including its SiteAdvisor site-rating software in each product to protect against online fraud. Finally, McAfee is also including VirusScan mobile protection with its desktop Internet Security and Total Protection products.

This "triple play" perhaps makes McAfee's products more economical, but it remains to be seen if … Read more

If an IM link from a friend pops up on your screen, do you click it right away? Most people, like Eivind, do. Most don't end up with a PC-killing worm.

Malicious IM links are a growing threat to users, and Eivind got dished an unpleasant preview of the trend we have to look forward to. Can she warn her friends of the deception before they're compromised too?

Watch the story unfold in this week's tale of Trojan trouble, "Malware's IM hideaway." You can also access the Spyware Horror Story archives for more stories … Read more

Dr. Web helps you minimize contact with unsanitary files before you download them, by scanning them in advance and letting you know before it lands on your desktop if the file has a clean bill of health or if you should put on your biohazard suit before handling the innocuous-looking critter.

… Read more

PC gamers would risk a lot for the sake of gameplay, even ignoring security warning signs or remaining coolly unconcerned.

Meet two young teens whose quest for the gamer's high set them on a collision course with a whole horde of Trojan malware scarier than anything they'd encounter in RuneScape or World of Warcraft.

Read of the duo's travails in "Fools for the game," and also pick up valuable security do's and don'ts from other Spyware Horror Stories.

A few years ago, it seemed like we would hear about a new virus threatening to hijack computers around the globe every week. Though it may feel like we're out of the woods these days, it is probably only because many users and companies are now much more aware of potential threats than they used to be. Even computer manufacturers have gotten the message and take more precautions by including some form of pre-installed protection. But when the limitations on these demos run out, it has been my experience that many people just hope for the best because of how little we hear about new threats. Of course, these are the same people who later call me up asking why their computers no longer work.

Even though we don't hear about as many threats in the news, there are just as many viruses out in the wild and some viruses have become even more destructive. At work, your company probably has an antivirus system that protects you from most new strains and an IT department that keeps it updated. At home you are the IT department, and if you want to keep your files safe, you have to remain vigilant.… Read more

Arnaldo's friend, a Mac user, is given his very first Windows PC. The friend knows nothing about Windows XP security, but that's not even his biggest problem.

The real trouble in this week's Spyware Horror Story begins when Arnaldo's soon-to-be-ex-friend decides to dabble in creating his own viruses--and gets slammed by a few of these malware leeches instead.

Find out what went wrong, what went right, and what not to do in "Boomerang virus."

Like worms that have attacked MSN Messenger, AOL IM and Yahoo Messenger in the recent past, a worm is currently attacking Skype IM users. From an infected machine, the virus known as either Ramex.a (Skype) or Pykspa.a (McAfee) or Skipi.a shoots messages with a live link to people on the infected machine's Skype contact list. A JPEG image within the message provides a download link to a file with the SCR extension. Recipients who click on the link are then infected.

Once installed, the worm injects bogus entries into the computer's HOSTS file so that … Read more

Excluding Firefox and its 400 million downloads and 120 million regular users, the days of a killer free application dominating hearts and minds are deader than Pets.com. Yet a single malware destroyer is what we're all hoping for, especially since malware and virus threats are as chameleonic as their intentions are devious.

Three antimalware applications have made it to the top of my list: Avira Antivir, AVG Anti-Spyware, and A-Squared Free.

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For some teens, the most horrific part of weathering a spyware storm is being separated from the computer until it's clean.

One dad seizes this as a disciplinary technique. A little time away from the Web could teach Junior some healthy fear of dangerous downloads and greater respect for the family PC.

Read all about it in "Crime and Punishment," this week's Spyware Horror Story.