viruses

Based on its name, we expected UVK - Ultra Virus Killer to be an antivirus program. While it can help protect your computer from threats, that's not exactly how it works; instead of detecting and removing viruses, it "immunizes" your computer against them, as well as a variety of other unauthorized changes. Between that and a whole suite of other features, UVK provides a powerful option for protecting your computer.

The "immunization" that UVK provides focuses on three areas: Windows startup and log-on, system registry entries, and Internet and Windows Explorer. Immunization of any of … Read more

Only about half of kids ages 6 months to 17 years received the flu shot in the 2010-2011 season, which may be one reason influenza remains one of the most common causes of hospitalization among kids today, according to a study in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

So researchers from Columbia University and beyond tested an intervention program on a randomized control trial of more than 9,000 kids of that same age range at four community-based clinics in the United States, where more than 7,500 kids had not received the vaccine … Read more

Update: 2:05 PM P.T. New concerns emerged Friday about the spread of a malware epidemic that targets users of Apple's Mac OS X.

Last week, Symantec said the number of infections had dropped to 140,000. Another security researcher, Kaspersky Labs, also reported a sharp decline in the number of infected computers.

But a Russian security company named Dr. Web, which was the first to spot the fast-spreading malware infection targeting Mac users, suggests that the estimated declines are incorrect. According to Dr. Web:

Virtual World Computing's Cocoon is a free online security solution with customized extensions for several popular browsers, such as Internet Explorer. With Cocoon for Internet Explorer, you can browse and communicate safely, securely, and anonymously inside IE, at home or on the go. You can log on from public Wireless Access Points and unfamiliar networks, and Cocoon will keep you safe from sites that monitor your online activity. In addition to protecting your privacy, Cocoon also protects you from viruses, malware, and other online threats. It stores your browsing history, cookies, and other data securely in your online account, … Read more

Japanese users of Google's online clearing house of downloadable entertainment for Android devices are being targeted with a Trojan horse that displays requested videos but nicks personal information in the process.

Antivirus company McAfee posted a blog item this afternoon about the Trojan, which was found lurking in the Google Play marketplace.

The post says applications carrying the Trojan promise, and in some cases deliver, trailers for upcoming video games or anime or adult-oriented clips, but they also request "read contact data" and "read phone state and identity" permissions before being downloaded.

Those permissions give … Read more

The Flashback Trojan that found its way onto more than 600,000 Macs isn't the first bit of malicious code that has hit an Apple computer, but it sure has the casual Mac user thinking twice. It's the most significant malware in recent memory that dents the otherwise unrealistic reputation that Macs are somehow invulnerable to viruses.

The truth is, there are more PC/Windows viruses because there are more Windows machines. The more popular Macs get, the more OS X-based viruses will surface.… Read more

Richard, our studio engineer, is the inspiration for today's show title that goes along with a story about his old Dumpster-diving days, when he'd raid the Hostess factory at the end of the night to recover "old" Twinkies and Ho Hos.

Jeff faced childhood memories of his own this weekend while cleaning out his old closet, unearthing treasures like Palm Pilots, two Sega Dreamcasts, and a box of old CD jewel cases. If you don't know what those things are, you're too young to be listening to The 404.… Read more

I'm writing today's post on a laptop running Zorin OS, a Linux variant that looks and operates a lot like Windows 7. That has nothing to do with today's deals--just thought I'd mention it. It's pretty cool.

In the market for a Roku box? Antivirus software? How about a dirt-cheap home theater receiver? I've got you covered, and then some. That's right: it's a multideal Monday!

1. Today only, Woot offshoot Moofi has the Roku XD-HR streaming media player for $59.99, plus $5 for shipping. This is the flagship model of … Read more

If you thought the New Folder virus was an unfortunate tendency to pepper your system with empty New Folders (not to mention New Folder (2), etc.) then you're probably lucky. But if you've got new folders popping up all over the place faster than you can delete them, your system has been infected by the New Folder virus, also called Iddono. Help is available from Security Stronghold's Newfolder Removal Tool. This simple, standalone freeware removes all instances of newfolder.exe and related viruses with a single click. It also immunizes removable drives against the virus, a useful … Read more