F-Secure

Apple marketing chief jabs Android security on Twitter

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller has been a semi-regular Twitter user since 2008, though mostly tweets about things like music, movies and sports.

But that changed earlier today with a post linking to F-Secure Labs' latest quarterly Mobile Threat report, with a casual mention to "be safe out there."

The 29-page report's (PDF) key finding is that malware on Google's Android is getting worse, in part because of the platform's brisk growth and a new variant of malware that spread using SMS.

"Android malware has been strengthening its position in the mobile threat scene,&… Read more

F-Secure gets an A in protection

Review: The Finnish security firm F-Secure gains a large percentage of its business from corporate accounts and platform operators, but that doesn't mean that it treats its consumer security suites as a ginger-haired child of indeterminate parentage and poor temperament. F-Secure 2013 focuses on keeping its security ahead of the curve, along with some ease-of-use improvements. However, as other suites emphasize their engine improvements along with an ever-expanding feature set, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2013 ($39.99) and F-Secure Internet Security 2013 ($59.99) remain steadfastly lean while still providing top-rated security.

Installation Unlike last year, where F-Secure 2012 had a … 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

Nokia: We have a Windows Phone 'contingency plan'

Nokia has a plan in its back pocket should a deal with Microsoft fall through, or the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 software update fail to generate interest, according to Nokia's board chairman.

Speaking on his debut television appearance, F-Secure's founder and former chief executive Risto Siilasmaa, who became Nokia's board chairman in May, defended the move to Microsoft's Windows Phone, which replaced the ailing Symbian operating system last year.

But he said Nokia has a "contingency plan" should the forthcoming Windows Phone 8 "fail to live up to expectations," according to a … Read more

Flashback malware removal tool roundup

The Apple community is tackling the Flashback malware threat for OS X. Despite these efforts, the malware is still out there with the potential to infect unpatched Mac systems or even those that are patched, but for which the user fell for the fake Flash updater traps used by earlier variants of the malware.

You can check for the presence of the malware using our instructions or others, or use automated online options such as Dr. Web's checker to determine if your system may be compromised. So far, a number of tools have been released by some reputable security … Read more

F-secure releases free Flashback removal script for OS X

The Flashback malware for OS X has been one of the largest attacks to date on OS X, which at its peak on April 6 affected an estimated 600,000 systems running OS X. While developments regarding this malware's mode of infection and the scope of the problem have been concerning, efforts by those in the Mac community are underway to tackle and remove the problem. So far, these efforts have cut the number of infected systems in half in just under five days.

This effort has stemmed from the availability of instructions on how to manually detect and remove the malware, … Read more

F-Secure finds rare digitally signed malware

Researchers at F-Secure have uncovered a rarity--malware that is signed with a valid code-signing certificate stolen from a government.

The malware uses a certificate for mardi.gov.my, which is the Agricultural Research and Development Institute of Malaysia. That agency told F-Secure that the certificate had been stolen "quite some time ago." It expired at the end of September so is no longer effective for authentication.

The Trojan program, which F-Secure detected as Agent.DTIW, spreads via malicious PDF files that exploit a vulnerability in Adobe Reader 8, according to the F-Secure blog.

"The malware downloads additional … Read more

Tight security, thin premium features define F-Secure 2012

The Finnish security firm F-Secure gains a large percentage of its business from corporate accounts and platform operators, but that doesn't mean that it treats its consumer security suites as a ginger-haired child of indeterminate parentage and poor temperament. The new versions of F-Secure Internet Security 2012 (download) and F-Secure Anti-Virus 2012 (download) focus on keeping its security ahead of the curve, along with some ease-of-use improvements. However, as other suites emphasize their engine improvements along with an ever-expanding feature set, F-Secure remains steadfastly lean.

The only major visual change to the suite is the debut of the Launch … Read more

Scam targets Apple App Store customers

One of the latest scams floating around cyberspace is aimed at people who recently bought items at Apple's App Store.

As described yesterday by security vendor F-Secure, scammers are sending out phony messages to users claiming that a recent order at Apple's App Store has been canceled.

F-Secure's blog post intimated that the scam was specifically targeting actual App Store customers. But instead the scammers seem to be employing the usual shotgun approach, targeting many people in hopes of hitting a certain percentage who actually just bought something through the App Store, Sean Sullivan, a security adviser … Read more