trojans

The bottom line: Although AVG has flagged a little in the past few years, AVG Anti-Virus Free 2011 breathes some new life into one of the most popular security programs around with a shorter install, better usability, and faster scans.

Review: The never-ending mantra chanted by security suite vendors sounds a lot like "faster scans, easier to use, better performance," and AVG has released a new version that it says accomplishes all three. Certainly, the scans are faster, it does install more quickly, and some tweaks to the interface have made it easier to use. However, changes to … Read more

Nineteen people have been arrested in the U.K. for their alleged involvement in a fraud ring that stole millions of pounds from U.K. bank accounts.

London's Metropolitan Police Central eCrime Unit said the 15 men and 4 women, who were arrested yesterday in London, are suspected of using the Zeus data-stealing Trojan to capture log-in details and gain access to online bank accounts. The gang allegedly stole about 6 million pounds ($9.5 million) in a three-month period from U.K. banks.

Police were alerted to the gang's alleged activities by the Virtual Taskforce, a group … Read more

Criminals are using bogus LinkedIn invite e-mails to trick people into clicking on links that lead to the Zeus data-stealing Trojan, a researcher warned today. The malware targets Windows users.

Researchers saw tens of billions of messages related to the attack yesterday, Henry Stern, a senior security researcher at Cisco Systems, told CNET. "There have been some bursts today, but nothing like yesterday," he said. "The botnet responsible for this is still in operation and it's just doing something else right now."

While this attack appears to be abating, people should be wary of any … Read more

The bottom line:

Kaspersky's latest refresh to its premium security suite introduces several new tools to help keep your computer safe while enhancing older ones. The few problems in Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 loom larger than they would otherwise, though, because of the high retail cost of the suite.

Review:

Kaspersky Internet Security continues to provide users with a high level of protection that includes security tools not offered by many competitors. The 2011 version won't change the face of personal computer security, although this particular package of security options and top-shelf performance has attracted enough devotees to … Read more

Google releases an expanded voice control app for Froyo, A PSP/Android hybrid gaming device, and the first Android Trojan (if you live in Russia). Plus Justin reviews SwiftKey, and we cover all of the Voice commands achievable with the new Google app.

The social network stands up to Googlezon's net neutrality proposal, and meanwhile plots Foursquare's demise. Also Farmville pulling up stakes at MSN, and your car's tire pressure sensors can be hacked by drive-bys. Everybody panic!

Consumers and businesses in Great Britain have lost more than $1 million so far this summer from a Trojan that is infecting their computers, prompting them to log into their bank accounts, and then is surreptitiously transferring money to scammers in other countries, security researchers said on Tuesday.

About 3,000 bank accounts were found to be compromised at one financial institution, which was not identified, according to a white paper released by M86 Security.

The multilevel scheme uses a combination of a new version of the Zeus keylogger and password stealer Trojan, which targets Windows-based computers and runs on … Read more

Security experts warned on Tuesday about what is believed to be the first Trojan targeting Android-based mobile devices that racks up charges by sending text messages to premium-rate numbers.

The Trojan-SMS malware, dubbed "Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.a," is being distributed via an unknown malicious Web site, said Denis Maslennikov, senior malware researcher at Kaspersky Lab.

Users are prompted to install a "media player application" that is a little bigger than 13 kilobytes, but which is hiding the Trojan inside, according to Kaspersky and mobile-phone security company Lookout, which analyzed the threat.

Like all Android apps, the … Read more

A criminal gang has stolen over 60GB of data using a botnet that has infected around 55,000 computers around the world, according to a report from security company AVG.

The botnet, which AVG has dubbed "Mumba," has compromised systems in the U.K., as well as in the U.S., Germany, and Spain, the company said in a report (PDF) released Monday. The stolen credentials found by AVG's researchers includes bank account numbers, credit card details, and social-networking log-ins.

"The Mumba botnet--so called because of some funky attributes our researchers found on the server--was created … Read more