You’ve read and loved it three times before, so here it is for a fourth time — a big mess of security-related links. These rather orderly messes are compiled by ParetoLogic’s Jeff Green to edify and entertain those interested in spyware and PC security. As an aside, if you’ve e-mailed SpywareDaily[at]ParetoLogic[dot]com in the past couple of […]

Recently, an executive at ParetoLogic discovered a link to a "crack" for XoftSpy. Crack files, on the rare occasion when they actually work, break through copy protection and give users free (and illegal) access to an application that other users pay for. Cracks have commonly been linked to spyware, adware and viruses, and you can see […]

Over at eWeek, Ryan Naraine reports on a government-funded security firm called Komoku, Inc., who are busy working on both a hardware and software solution to rootkit detection. Komoku President William Arbaugh describes the rootkit problem accurately: "Security technologies depend on the correctness of the system they’re actually checking," said Arbaugh…"If something changes the system at the operating […]

It’s days like today that I’m proud to be a Canadian. I’ll sit down and eat a stack of flapjacks doused in maple syrup, watch hockey and knock back a few Sleeman’s, and then just wander around the neighbourhood saying "eh" to my fellow Canucks. The cause for my national pride comes in the form of […]

Once again, a big mess of security-related links compiled by ParetoLogic’s Jeff Green to edify and entertain those interested in spyware and PC security. If you’re really interested in security and privacy, you might want to take a look at this new Wired blog on those two exact topics. (I gather that a 27B Stroke 6 is […]

Lots of Microsoft news this week! Spyware/Malware/Phishing/Virus/etc: More Brits than ever are placing themselves at risk of identity fraud, despite awareness campaigns warning them of the dangers. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/16/id_fraud_prevention_week/ McDonalds Japan has launched a recall after discovering that MP3 players it offered as a prize were loaded with a particularly nasty strain of malware. Up to 10,000 people might have […]

Thanks to Greg D. Feezel, CISSP, Founder and Steering Committee Member of the Northeast Ohio Information Security Forum for sending this in. A new vulnerability affecting animated cursor and icons in Windows that has been announced. No patch exists for the vulnerability and exploit code has been released and there are reports of some malware exploiting […]

There’s a long line of browsers that have completely failed to enhance end-users security and peace of mind on the web. Yapbrowser, which redirected you to illegal porn with the click of a button; The “Safety Browser”, which was anything but safe and arrived in the form of an Instant Messaging hijack; Browsezilla, which allegedly […]

A long time ago, I signed up to the StatCounter service, though I don’t think I ever used it. Well, sometimes I still get email based newsletters and this particular one happened to catch my eye…. Folks, A few months back, StatCounter was approached by an advertiser, offered lots of $$$, and asked to include a spyware […]

The 59 Top Influencers in IT Security We had the great fortune of having two members of Facetime’s research team named on ITSecurity.com’s Top Influencers in IT Security list. It is truly a highpoint to be recognized on the same page as security influentials like Amrit Williams, Alan Shimel, Richard Stiennon, Dr. Anton Chuvakin, and Bruce […]

Click Image to Enlarge ….any takers? I think someone needs to hire a proof reader… Published by PaperghostContinue reading: Spot The Mistake: Faulty Spam

This coverage from colleague, Anne. P. Mitchess, Esq., President of the Institute for Spam and Internet Public Policy (ISIPP) on the Melanie McGuire and Google search case caught my eye. It was a matter of time before search histories come back to haunt…and this leaves me further worried about the insecure state of PCs and […]

Check out this piece over at ITWeek. I offer up a few thoughts on the current craze for Chinese Adware and Malware - more and more, this stuff is starting to spread outside the confines of China itself and out into the West. There’s a near limitless supply of these infections at the moment, and […]

Our CEO, Kailash Ambwani talks on the greynets concept and how the majority of internet traffic has evolved from http to communicative application traffic. Ambwani discussed how enterprises are adopting greynets, how this increases security liabilities, and how FaceTime security products enable and secure greynets. Remember, Facetime is about enablement and controlling these innovations inside […]

Here’s an interesting one from the database - a colleague of mine came across this a few weeks ago and now here we are, about to plunge into the depths of some more Chinese-related Malware. This time round, there’s a little twist thrown in for good measure - East meets West, if you will. We […]

If you use Wordpress for Blogging fun and games, make sure you pay attention to this notice. Quote time: “Long story short: If you downloaded WordPress 2.1.1 within the past 3-4 days, your files may include a security exploit that was added by a cracker, and you should upgrade all of your files to 2.1.2 immediately.” Published […]

Continuing the current theme of virtual programs creating real-world issues, here’s a newspaper having its distribution severely affected because of an infection crippling production equipment. Must have been one heck of a virus… Published by PaperghostContinue reading: The Real World Impact of Virus Attacks

Check out Marketscore and New.net. Not a spectacular score, threat wise - there’s plenty of things out there with a bigger, badder bite. Yet in some strange way, both of these two have been tangled up in the Julie Amero case (according to the details filtering out from the ongoing case, they were both present […]

Our yearly review of Instant Messaging and Peer to Peer threats has hit the streets, and the results can be seen here. A combination of data from recent analysis and the October 2006 Greynets Survey, the overall picture is that of a security landscape where the number of threats has reduced since 2005, but the […]

While recently in Spain (doing a sort of QA session on the latest spyware threats), I was surprised to find they wanted a short video session too, so here it is. Nothing technical - just an entry level ramble about basic protection, the risks of unsafe Instant Messaging and a bunch of other stuff. Published by […]

Our yearly review of Instant Messaging and Peer to Peer threats has hit the streets, and the results can be seen here. A combination of data from recent analysis and the October 2006 Greynets Survey, the overall picture is that of a security landscape where the number of threats has reduced since 2005, but the […]

I have just returned from Affiliate Summit West 2007 where I went scouting the current state of advertising, ethics, and what the future holds for people. I will have more on that later I will say that giant waves seem to be rippling under the surface, and *maybe* in the direction of cleaning up some […]

In a novel ruling, it’s not the Adware guys made to pay the price but the advertisers: Priceline.com, Travelocity.com and Cingular Wireless have settled over charges that they used secret adware Internet software programs as marketing tools, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Monday. This is the first time marketers have been held responsible for […]

Our friends at CastleCops’ body of work is truly ground breaking and it has always been a pleasure to collaborate and exchange knowledge with Paul Laudanski, Microsoft MVP Windows-Security, on his projects into malware and phishing research. They will soon be giving away over $130,000 in donations from companies who recognize how valuable CastleCops and […]

With only hours to go until our presentation on all things Botnet, we present a small collection of images from our time in and around the conference area… Click Image to Enlarge ….well, it’s traditional to grab a snap of the entrance or something, right? Only problem is, I think this might actually be the back door. […]

The dust has settled from RSA 2007, and it was standing room only as Wayne Porter and I explored the methods of shutting down Botnets by dealing with details outside of the Botnet itself - in other words, tackling the human angle as opposed server details to have a bigger impact on the bad guys. Click […]

Just in case you’re not too familiar with the basics of what a Botnet actually is, you might want to check out this video over at EWeek. It’s about five minutes long, and a nice introduction to all things Botnet. Published by PaperghostContinue reading: Botnet Basics

While recently in Spain (doing a sort of QA session on the latest spyware threats), I was surprised to find they wanted a short video session too, so here it is. Nothing technical - just an entry level ramble about basic protection, the risks of unsafe Instant Messaging and a bunch of other stuff. Published by […]

Tap, Tap, Tap…we are waiting on the go ahead to release our presentation from RSA and in the course of it looking at some interesting China-based “mysteryware”. Until then… There is something about this picture that yells “viral”. It has popped up in my own inbox more than once and I had to explain I was […]

Here’s an interesting one - apparently from a Chinese Trojan bundle, “Coopen” places a media tool on your desktop, which rotates between desktop backgrounds and screensavers. At least your desktop hijack will be a visually striking multimedia experience! Click to Enlarge That’s not all, however - the Coopen media player is really only the introductory salvo. From […]