Tag: SPYWARE

It's hard for less-savvy computer users to stay out of trouble on the Internet, and part of the problem is that they just don't know how to identify potential threats. Fortunately, there are plenty of great online resources you can use, or point your friends and family to. We've already covered the excellent Facecrooks, which helps users avoid trouble on Facebook, and today we're taking a look at ...

You may have noticed Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool in your list of available Windows Updates. Heck, you may even have seen it in your Add/Remove Programs and wondered where it came from. The MSRT can actually be quite useful, and it's a fast, simple way to remove a number of common malware infections. In an update pushed yesterday, Microsoft added Cycobot to the list of malware ...

Once upon a time, rogue antivirus apps were pretty much one-trick ponies. They tried to closely mimic the interfaces we recognize from apps like AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials and use goofily-combined names like Super Windows Antivirus 2010 Gold Pro. However, as Sunbelt reports on their official blog, malware authors are now branching out into other types of bogus apps in order to lure ...

PeerBlock is a great way to keep unwanted P2P connections (as well as advertising and spyware) from getting through to your Windows computer, and it's just gotten better with the release of PeerBlock 1.1. Among the key additions are a completely revamped installer (complete with a signed driver), an updated list manager for easier settings tweaks, and a list verification feature to prevent ...

It's a bit hard to believe, but it's only been one short year since Microsoft introduced Security Essentials to the world. So, how do you celebrate the first birthday of an anti-malware app that is loved by tens of millions of users? With a cake and a couple of blog posts, of course! Over at the Windows Team Blog, they're focused on numbers -- here are few key ones: 30 million users in 74 ...

A new report from SMobile Systems suggests that almost 20% of the 48,000 apps on the Android Marketplace could be spyware. Now, this is a potential risk -- as in, 20% of apps have functionality that could be likened to spyware. If you've installed apps on an Android smartphone, you'll know that you get a big warning screen that tells you which services and data the app will have access to. ...

Due in no small part to the popularity of Windows 7, 64-bit desktop computing is finally starting to take off. Some developers were quick to get on board, but we're still a long way away from seeing the disappearance of the 32-bit compatibility layer (if it ever disappears). Mozilla recently started making x64 builds of Firefox available to Windows users, and now the popular anti-malware tool ...

Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for free applications that help us keep our systems malware-free, provided that they actually work as advertised. Lark Antispyware...not so much. When I see something new and potentially interesting show up on Softpedia, I'll download it to see if it's worth sharing. Most of the time an app is postable because it's useful. Sometimes it's postable because people ...

Adobe announced it's buying Omniture, the web analytics firm it's been using to track usage stats on its products for years. Omniture is one of the largest analytics companies out there, serving a roster of customers including America Online (this blog's parent company), British Telecom, Disney, eBay, and Ford. Adobe's using thick corporate-speak in its press announcements about this acquisition ...

If there's one anti-malware application that we (and you) hold near and dear, it's Malwarebytes. How do you know when your crapware-fighting application has really made it big? When it starts being targeted by rogue antivirus software, of course. Protection System -- which sounds about as real as The Christopher Guest School for Mixed Martial Arts -- detects MBAM during its bogus scan procedure ...

It's a little bit behind schedule (it was slated for the end of July/early August), but the first Avast 5.0 beta has been released for testing. The most noticeable change for most users will be the restyled interface - gone is the overstylized media player look. There are, of course, a number of other improvements and new features which I mentioned back in July. Bear in mind that this is a ...

Remember the other day when I said I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the security providers join forces for the greater good? Sophos' Graham Cluely has this morning announced the formation of the Industry Connections Security Group under the umbrella of the IEEE Standards Association's Industry Connections program. Initially the group includes Sophos, Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee, AVG, and ...

Man, I wish this chart illustrated my salary over the past five years. Sadly, however, it's AV-Test.org's look at malware in the wild. The actual number of unique samples doesn't necessarily mean all that much. So many of the nasties floating around the Internet are just mutations of other infections. Just look at the vast array of crud SmitFraudFix cleans up - it's a whole lot more than the ...

Last month, Symantec Product Manager David Hall ruffled some feathers when he blasted free antivirus software. Avast's Vincent Steckler has since had a look at the interview, and believes Hall "erroneously concludes that free products cannot be trusted, are not sufficient, etc." He continues, "But then again why should a firm that makes a billion dollars a year off of paid anti-virus conclude ...

It's been quite a while since the crew at Avast released a major version, so this news should be very welcome to its 80 million + users. Version 5 is slated for release this October, and beta testing will begin in just a couple weeks. What's new? For starters, the interface has received some obvious TLC - gone is the option of switching between the simple and enhanced UIs. Under the hood, Avast 5 ...