malware

There's been a lot of news lately on how Android mobile devices are malware's new favorite victims. While Google has been working to beef up security for its mobile OS, wireless carriers are also pitching in.

Verizon announced the launch of its McAfee "Mobile Security" app for Android today, which aims to help subscribers protect stored data on their smartphones. More specifically the paid version of the app lets users remotely locate, alarm, lock, and wipe data from their device.

"While most consumers with smartphones understand they are carrying around the functions of a computer, … Read more

Trend Micro wants to redefine the expectations of people buying security suites by changing what level of protection they get. The Trend Micro Titanium 2013 updates move feature sets around, lowering the price on features previously available only for more money, as well as debuting new ones.

Available exclusively from Download.com today, Titanium Antivirus Plus (30-day trial download, $39.95), Titanium Internet Security (30-day trial download, $79.95), Titanium Maximum Security (30-day trial download, $89.95), Titanium Premium Security (30-day trial download, $99.95), and Titanium Mac (30-day trial download, $69.95) push a number of formerly premium options … Read more

It turns out over half of U.S. mobile users are paranoid about their privacy -- not that they don't have reason to be. According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, 57 percent of mobile app users have either uninstalled or refused to install apps because of privacy concerns.

"Many cell phone users take steps to manage, control, or protect the personal data on their mobile devices," wrote the survey's authors, Jan Lauren Boyles, Aaron Smith, and Mary Madden. "More than half of mobile application users … Read more

Microsoft is forcing everybody to rethink the operating system that everybody loves to hate with Windows 8, and that includes security suite makers. Freeware faves AVG leap into the future today with a touch-friendly interface, a zippy installation, and impressively fast scans.

The upgrades are available at no cost as AVG Anti-Virus Free 2013 (download), or as a paid update to AVG Anti-Virus 2013 (download) and AVG Internet Security 2013 (download), exclusively from Download.com today.

Security vendor claims about being faster, or better, or able to protect your computer while doing your dishes, are perennial boasts. At least in … Read more

Symantec's annual Norton security suite delivers an interface optimized for Windows 8, but its new features address the mobile and social implications of the era arriving with the new operating system at the end of October.

The new features in Norton Anti-Virus 2013 (download), Norton Internet Security 2013 (download), and Norton 360 2013 (download), aim squarely to cut down on social engineering threats like scams and phishing attacks.

Windows 8 is already gaining a reputation as the safest version of Windows to date, but this doesn't surprise Gerry Egan, Norton's senior product manager. "Each time Microsoft … Read more

The online world is under siege. Computers, laptops, and mobile devices are increasingly being attacked by worms, viruses, botnets, Trojans, spam, and more.

According to a new report by McAfee (PDF), Malware is multiplying at a faster pace now than any other time in the last four years. There has been a 1.5 million increase in malware over last quarter, along with growth of newer threats, including "ransomware" attacks, thumb drive corrupters, and botnets.

While Windows PCs remain the hardest hit, there's a growing trend of attacks on Apple's Mac devices and Android smartphones.

"… Read more

Windows 8 support and a new interface for touch screens arrive in Panda's 2013 security suites, released today.

Following the mid-summer update to Panda Cloud Antivirus, Panda's 2013 line-up of Panda Antivirus Pro 2013 (download), Panda Internet Security 2013 (download), and Panda Global Protection 2013 (download) offers a competitive range of security features. But if you're not already a Panda fan, it's hard to see what's in this year's release that would convince you to jump.

There are some solid improvements, to be sure. As mentioned, the new landing screen favors large, mobile-style buttons, … Read more

What's up with all the malware aimed at the Middle East?

For the second time in two weeks a virus outbreak has been reported at an energy company in that region. Qatari liquified natural gas producer RasGas said its corporate network and Web site were down after getting hit by a virus on Monday. Earlier this week the Saudi Aramco oil company confirmed that its network was hit by a virus two weeks ago, shutting down 30,000 workstations. Neither company identified the virus, but in at least one of the cases it is believed to be malware known … Read more

In response to the findings of a recent vulnerability in Java 7 that was being exploited by malware developers, Oracle has released an official patch that takes care of the problem.

In the past week, a new vulnerability was unveiled in Oracle's Java 7 runtime, which has been used by hackers in targeted attacks on Windows-based systems. Similar to the recent Flashback malware in OS X, this vulnerability allows criminals to create a drive-by hack where the only action needed to compromise a system is to visit a rogue Web page that hosts a malicious Java applet.

Even though … Read more