malicious

A number of Samsung smartphones have been found to be vulnerable to a remote factory reset, according to details surfacing today. The hack, which was detailed at a recent Ekoparty security conference, shows that the Galaxy S3 is susceptible to the simple reset.… Read more

Even if you run reliable antivirus software -- and you do, don't you? -- it's never a bad idea to have a supplemental program that can pick up malware that your regular antivirus application might miss. HitmanPro 3 (32-bit) is an easy-to-use program that can quickly scan for and remove a variety of nasty things that might be lurking on your computer.

HitmanPro 3 has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to get started. If you're ready to plow ahead with the default scan, just click Next. If you'd like to do some customizing, the … Read more

After pleading guilty last year to creating a botnet that wreaked havoc on about 72,000 computers, Joshua Schichtel was sentenced to prison today. The Department of Justice announced that Schichtel received a 30-month prison sentence for "selling command-and-control access to and use of thousands of malware-infected computers."

Schichtel was a unique hacker. Rather than infecting computers for his own benefit, he instead sold botnets to customers who must have not had the tech know-how to create their own malware.

"Individuals who wanted to infect computers with various different types of malicious software (malware) would contact Schichtel … Read more

Comodo Internet Security is a free antivirus and PC security solution that combines a number of effective security tools into one easy-to-use package. It's one of the latest challengers to enter the expanding field of free security bundles, with which it shares some important characteristics, such as cloud-based virus scanning and behavior analysis to counter zero-day threats, a sturdy firewall, sandboxing, and anti-spyware -- all controlled from a single access point that takes the guesswork and program-swapping out of the security equation. Each strives to satisfy advanced users and absolute beginners alike. Comodo Internet Security passes all those checkpoints … 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

PostSecret founder Frank Warren, who receives hundreds of postcards and letters from strangers every week and posts about 20 of them on his blog on Sundays, said he's "pained" by the close of the PostSecret app, which launched in September. But its demise is due in part to its success.

"Although today--the first day after the death of the app--is painful, it … Read more

In the fight against malware, Apple's iOS outshines Android as a safer environment, but no mobile device is free from risk, says a new report from McAfee (PDF).

Apple has so far done a good job of securing its devices, according to the report, noting that there have been no known cases of malware affecting iPhones, at least those that haven't been jailbroken. One reason iOS is more secure is because Apple restricts the way users can download apps.

iOS device owners can only download apps through Apple's App Store or through Mobile Device Management, which gives … Read more

Android tops the charts in mobile malware, largely due to the failure of Google's Android Market to properly review apps before they hit the marketplace, says a new report from Juniper Networks.

In a blog post yesterday, Juniper found that Android malware has soared 472 percent since this past July. In particular, October and November have seen the fastest rise in Android malware since Google unveiled its mobile platform, according to Juniper's Global Threat Center.

The number of Android malware samples collected in October rose 110 percent over September and 171 percent over those collected up to July. … Read more

The next iPhone will be unveiled tomorrow, Facebook partners with Websense to check for malicious links, and a major security vulnerability in HTC Android phones reveals a huge amount of personal data.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded: