Malware

Apple released an update Thursday to detect a piece of malware after letting users know that it would push out the tool earlier in the week. The program, available for download from Apple's support pages , will remove most variants of the malware program Flashback, which is believed to have affected around 600,000 computers worldwide. The program infected Macs by exploiting a weakness in Java that Apple had not yet plugged. The new update downloads a new version of Java and disables Java applets from running automatically.

The Web sites for WTOP and Federal News Radio are no longer infected with malware that installed fake antivirus software onto some users' computers, the owners said Monday. Full access was restored on Saturday. There's no evidence that information about user e-mails registered with the Web sites were accessible during the attack, the stations said in a Monday press release , but the passwords for all registered users on both sites have been reset. Both stations are owned by Hubbard Radio.

The United States and Israel jointly developed a sophisticated computer virus nicknamed Flame that collected intelligence in preparation for cyber-sabotage aimed at slowing Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon, according to Western officials with knowledge of the effort. The massive piece of malware secretly mapped and monitored Iran's computer networks, sending back a steady stream of intelligence to prepare for a cyber­warfare campaign, according to the officials. The...

Nearly 80 percent of all mobile malware found in 2012 was written for phones running Google's mobile Android operating system, according to a report from security firm F-Secure . Android is the world's most popular smartphone platform — with nearly 70 percent of the market, according to numbers posted in January by Strategy Analytics. But it appears to be even more popular with those writing malicious programs, with 79 percent of all mobile malware in 2012 targeting Android phones.

Computer security researchers have uncovered malware that appears to have been used as part of a widespread cyber-espionage campaign targeting European diplomatic and government agencies. Kaspersky Lab, a global firm based in Moscow, said in a report released Monday that in terms of complexity, the malware rivals the Flame virus , a cyber-spying tool that was created by the United States and Israel for use against Iran. The malware, called Rocra, has been in existence for at least five years and appears to have been...

Security researchers increasingly are finding that sites designed to trick the visitor into installing malicious software will serve different malware depending on whether the visitor arrives at the page using a Microsoft Windows PC or a Mac. Trend Micro researcher Ivan Macalintal recently found a new variant of the dreaded DNS changer Trojan that checks to see which operating system the visitor's Web browser appears to be riding on, and then offers...

New details are emerging about how Flame malware is infecting computers that run on Microsoft's Windows operating system. Researchers at both Symantec and Kaspersky Labs studied the way the attack was being executed and determined that the malware was able to infiltrate a user's computer when a Windows Update was performed. "When a machine tries to connect to Microsoft's Windows Update, it redirects the connection through an infected machine and it sends a fake, malicious Windows Update to the client," Alexander...

Nearly 80 percent of all mobile malware found in 2012 was written for phones running Google's mobile Android operating system, according to a report from security firm F-Secure . Android is the world's most popular smartphone platform — with nearly 70 percent of the market, according to numbers posted in January by Strategy Analytics. But it appears to be even more popular with those writing malicious programs, with 79 percent of all mobile malware in 2012 targeting Android phones.

It sucks when viruses clog your PC, slow it to a crawl, and generally make your life miserable. But what if it put your life in danger? With medical facilities all around the United States running outdated software that can't install new security patches, that very well may become the case. According to the  Technology Review , 664 medical machines at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston ran outdated operating systems that it could not upgrade despite that many older Windows operating systems...

Earlier this week, Washington Post blogger Brian Krebs stunned the computing world with the revelation that Apple had quietly been recommending anti-virus software for users of Mac OS X. This news flew in the face of popular wisdom (and Apple advertising), which holds that only Windows users need fear malware and other online attacks. But the shock didn't last long. Apple quickly went into spin-control mode, claiming that the online Knowledge Base article in question was out of date and that...

Apple acknowledged Tuesday that hackers had infiltrated a small number of the company's computers. No user information was compromised in the attack, according to the tech giant, which said it had fallen victim to the same hackers that targeted Facebook last month. The malware found its way onto Mac computers through a vulnerability in an Internet browser plug-in developed for Oracle's Java program. Apple said it will release a software patch Tuesday to prevent the problem from spreading.

The security firm Bit9 disclosed Friday that it has been the victim of a hack and that attackers have used the firm's own software to spread malware even further. The hack was first reported by Krebs on Security's Brian Krebs, who noted that Bit9's own encryption keys were on several pieces of malware — essentially making the security firm, which certifies safe software, a vector for the distribution of the bad software. Confirming the attack, the company said that the problem was not due to a flaw in its...

Microsoft's anti-virus software Security Essentials failed a test by the well-known AV-Test institute , which issues out certifications for the most reliable anti-virus programs. The test on Microsoft's anti-virus product found that it only protected against 71 percent of the zero-day attacks tested, and 92 percent of malware "discovered in the last two to three months). But, of course, Microsoft isn't buying it. The company released a blog post yesterday saying it tests its own products based...

Computer security researchers have uncovered malware that appears to have been used as part of a widespread cyber-espionage campaign targeting European diplomatic and government agencies. Kaspersky Lab, a global firm based in Moscow, said in a report released Monday that in terms of complexity, the malware rivals the Flame virus , a cyber-spying tool that was created by the United States and Israel for use against Iran. The malware, called Rocra, has been in existence for at least five...

The FBI arrested 10 people associated with the a crime ring pushing the malware Yahos, according to an announcement Wednesday , saying the malware affected over 11 million people. Facebook's security team helped the FBI by identifying both the criminals and the victims. Yahos is a type of malware that steals bank account information, credit card numbers, and other personally identifiable information to siphon off money from its victims. Various criminals using Yahos have also created botnets to...

 Your neighborhood may seem clean and safe when you step outside, but in the midst of birds chirping and friendly waves, you could be living in cyber security hell. Security company Sophos released its Security Threats in 2013 report , which included analysis of which countries are the most at risk when it comes to malware and spam. Specifically the company looked at blackholes, or "prepackaged software kits," that live on an infected server. They then scan your computer...

New research from the security firm Sophos draws attention to a malware threat that likely never crosses most people's minds: The study asserts that one in every five Macs has Windows malware, which can be passed on to other computers. In fact, Mac users are seven times more likely to have Windows malware on their computers than Mac malware. According to the study, only one in 36 Mac users were found to be carrying viruses, spyware or Trojans intended for Mac OS X. But even if Mac users don't see the bad effects of a...

at • tack, n. an attempt to steal, destroy, or alter data off a computer or network. black hat, n. an unethical hacker who breaks into computer systems for personal gain. bot • net, n. a network of computers controlled by cybercriminals using a malicious program. DoS at • tack, n. a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is designed to obstruct or stop the normal functioning of a Web site, server, or network resource. One way in which hackers do this is to flood the server with more requests than it...

It sucks when viruses clog your PC, slow it to a crawl, and generally make your life miserable. But what if it put your life in danger? With medical facilities all around the United States running outdated software that can't install new security patches, that very well may become the case. According to the  Technology Review , 664 medical machines at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston ran outdated operating systems that it could not upgrade despite that many older Windows operating systems are huge targets...