Google’s Android OS often takes a beating from security companies for it’s occasional malware scares. Google has not been silent on the matter in the past, but the OS maker revealed today that it is taking action to combat Android malware. In fact, it has been taking action for the last few months without telling us. Google’s Bouncer project is an automated security scanner that will apparently filter malware from the Market.
Before you go around scanning QR codes with your mobile device willy-nilly, you should read through AVG's threat report for Q4 2011. In it AVG provides insight and analysis on trending security threats, and highlights in this latest installment include risks of QR codes, stolen digital certificates bypassing security on mobile phones, and the persistence of rootkits.
The thing about being a criminal is there's always the risk of being caught or otherwise exposed. This applies to the life of a cyber criminal as well. To wit, Facebook has identified five men it believes are behind the Koobface worm designed to burrow into various social networks like Facebook and Twitter in search of login information to help spread its related botnet far and wide.
We here at Maximum PC usually don’t cover drones, except for the ones that can be controlled using generic Android- or iOS-based smartphones and tablets. But we are left with little choice but to venture into Aviation Week territory when a story about military drones also features hackers, zero-day vulnerabilities and malware. You get the drift, don’t you? Hit the jump for more.
Everywhere you turn these days, it seems as though the headlines are filled with horror stories of Android phones riddled with malware. Even apps you snag on Android Market can infect your phone (although those are rare and often quickly removed). Microsoft has been paying attention to the news and decided to kick Google where it hurts with a new social media campaign. Have you been bitten by some Android malware and want to switch to (possibly) greener pastures? If you share your sob story on Twitter, Microsoft might just send you a shiny new Windows Phone as a technological band-aid.
Hard drive prices may be skyrocketing, but USB keys are almost a dime a dozen these days. Maybe that’s why people lose them so much; apparently, folks drop memory sticks at major rail lines by the literal bucket load. Misplacing all that data doesn’t sound smart, but security vendor Sophos recently tested an auction lot of 50 lost USBs on Sydney railways, and their findings show that losing those sticks may have been a good thing after all – since most of them were riddled with malware.
Success always comes at a cost, and for Google's immensely popular open source Android platform, success has attracted the attention of malware writers. In fact, Android is again the most targeted mobile platform on the planet by malware authors, and during a time when mobile malware growth is at an all-time high, according to McAfee's Third-Quarter Threats Report for 2011.
This the time of year when everyone starts compiling lists of the best and worst holiday gift ideas, what with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the holiday shopping season all on the horizon. Security firm F-Secure put together its own list, but rather than swing one or the other, the protective folks at F-Secure meshed them all into a single "Top Ten Most 'Dangerous' Holiday Gifts for Cyber Monday 2011."
It’s not uncommon to see a free iPad scam pop up in your Facebook feed, but the latest apparent hack is a little more about shock than profit. An as yet unknown attack appears to be flooding some users’ feeds with images of gore and pornography. Facebook has acknowledged an increase in reports of such content, ans is investigating.
One Russian and six Estonians have been arrested (or have a warrant for their arrest) and charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in a 27-count indictment for allegedly hacking millions of computer systems in more than 100 countries and participating in a "massive" scheme to reroute Web surfers to rogue servers. By doing so, the seven individuals accumulated millions of dollars in fraudulent online ad revenue, the DoJ said.Connect with MaximumPC
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