malware

Review: Max Spyware Detector scans your computer for viruses and more

Max Spyware Detector quickly scans your system to find and remove spyware. In addition to being a little expensive, this download is bloated and lacks some high-end performance when it comes to spyware blocking. For as huge as it is, it should be stocked with goodies, but instead it doesn't even offer active protection from viruses.

To call this download big would be an understatement. It checks in at about 182MB, which would take some time to download even on faster connections. It starts scanning automatically once you start the program, though. The download hogs most of your computer'… Read more

Review: 360 Internet Security provides protection all around

360 Internet Security 2013's installer is a light 17MB, and though the overall installation time and duration was relatively fast, it's update process took longer than we had expected. Prior to installation, 360 will automatically prompt you to agree to their license and usage terms, something that's normally an opt-out process. And though it's more or less required to move on, those who are more keen on privacy details or interested in the terms of agreement should keep this in mind before they install the software. Still, the opt-out option might appear a bit suspicious, especially … Read more

Chinese hackers reportedly stole Obama and McCain documents

On the eve of President Barack Obama's high-level meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. intelligence officials have revealed that a slew of documents and e-mails were stolen during the 2008 presidential campaign from both the president and then GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Officials are accusing China's government for the hack.

According to NBC News, officials said that they first detected the major cyberattack in the summer of 2008 and were then able to trace the culprits back to China.

"Based on everything I know, this was a case of political cyberespionage by the Chinese … Read more

Review: F-Secure Mobile Security gets the job done

F-Secure Mobile Security is an all-encompassing service that provides antivirus scanning, parental controls, and anti-theft solutions in an attempt to provide an all-encompassing protection package.

Upon installation, the app will walk you through a series of steps that include accepting some guidelines and allowing permissions, like the ability to wipe your device without warning, check your location, and other sensitive administrative actions. It'll then guide you through an anti-theft setup process, first with Android's stock security and then with F-Secure's own security code. You'll then be asked to add an optional trusted number to send an … Read more

New proof-of-concept malware demonstrates virus for OS X

Security researchers have found a proof-of-concept attack that appears to be the first true viral malware approach for compromising OS X.

The malware is called "Clampzok.A" and is a cross-platform malware package that alters the binary files on an affected system so when executed, the binary will infect neighboring binary files.

The malware is written in assembly code, and was originally released in 2006 for Windows and Linux systems, but was recently updated to affect 32-bit Mach-O binary files in OS X machines.

Unlike Trojan horses, spyware, and adware that hide in one location on the system … Read more

iPhones can apparently be hacked with malicious charger

Most people have heard of malicious software as a way to hack into an iPhone, but what about a malicious charger?

Three researchers with the Georgia Institute of Technology say they have come up with a proof-of-concept malicious iPhone charger that lets them hack into the mobile device running the latest version of Apple's iOS in less than one minute. No jailbreaking required.

"Apple iOS devices are considered by many to be more secure than other mobile offerings. In evaluating this belief, we investigated the extent to which security threats were considered when performing everyday activities such as … Read more

Help protect yourself from signed malware in OS X

There is no question that regardless of the computing platform you use, malware happens. To help prevent these and other unwanted programs from running, Apple includes a data execution prevention routine called GateKeeper, which offers three layers of protection. The first allows everything to run, the second allows only applications signed with a valid Apple Developer ID to run, and the third allows only programs distributed through the Mac App Store to run.

Apple provides the Developer ID option with the assumption that most who use its Developer program create legitimate and trustworthy code, since their works will be easily … Read more

IObit Malware Fighter gets modernized in version 2.0

IObit's latest version release brings Malware Fighter to 2.0 and showcases a much more eye-popping design that is more consistent with the modern look and feel of Windows 8.

You'll be greeted with four basic options: Scan, Protect, Update, and Action Center. Since version 1.7, IObit's latest design feels much cleaner and certainly more intuitive for the average user. The original overview graph that the previous version opened with is now tucked away.

Previously included features like cloud scanning and quarantine lists are still present, but reside in a more modernized settings panel to the … Read more

New Mac spyware found in the Oslo Freedom Forum

F-secure is reporting on new malware found for OS X, which appears to be a backdoor application that so far is known to take screenshots of the user's computer and then attempt to upload them to remote servers. The malware is being called OSX/KitM.A.

It's a small application called macs.app and was found on the Mac of an African activist who was a member of of the Oslo Freedom Forum. When installed, the application is appended to the current Mac user's log-in items so it runs whenever the affected user account is logged in. … Read more