By any measure, end users are still using passwords that are far too simple. The Gawker Media hack from 2010, in fact, showed "123456" was the most common password in Gawker's database. Well, Microsoft's decided that if folks aren't going to pick strong passwords, at the very least Microsoft...
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Hackers are taking advantage of another highly publicized event to push spam on end users. In this case, Google+. Invitations to the new service are no long available, but even though the new social networking service is in "field test mode" (meaning somewhat imcomplete), an invitation to the service is a hot item. Pharmaceutical spammers...
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Computer hacking has a bad reputation, and understandably so. When one hears about organizations exposing the credit cards of millions of PSN users, there's not much argument that its criminal behavior. Against that background is cast the shadow of a new hacker convention: DEFCON Kids. DEFCON...
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Microsoft on Thrusday warned that scammers are now phoning home -- your home -- as one more way to get a fool to part with his money. The scam involves cybercriminals posing as security engineers calling people at home to tell them their PCs could be at risk for malware and offering free...
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Not long ago, we learned of an issue that affects all systems running Flash. Although most users' minds automatically think of the vulnerabilities they could be exposed to on their PC, because the BlackBerry PlayBook supports flash, this tablet is also susceptible. For this reason, RIM is releasing a new version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS...
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The Spanish National Police announced today that they've captured three individuals connected to the online hacktivist group Anonymous. According to the policía, the three are linked to attacks on multiple Spanish banks, one Italian energy company, Visa, MasterCard, and the governments...
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Paranoia. It's what makes the world go 'round. So maybe that's not precisely true in all cases, but does it not apply here? With the rampant hacking that's been going on (we're looking at you, Sony!), people near and far are suddenly...
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All it takes is a little bad publicity. Google is rolling out a fix to remedy the authToken security flaw we wrote about earlier. While Google early rolled out a client-side fix for Android 2.3.4 and higher, that left 99 percent of Android users still vulnerable. Considering how hard it is to...
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The bad news: Google's Android platform has a vulnerability that could allow the credentials used to access Google Calendar, Contacts and possibly other accounts to be stolen. The good news: Google fixed this in Android 2.3.4. More bad news: Android 2.3.4 is only on 1 percent of Android...
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Sony hardly needs any more negative PR. This is the same company that got caught installing rootkits on computers, and more recently, released a bevy of legal hounds on notorious PlayStation modder George Hotz. But folks, what Sony needs is hardly of concern at this point. Much more pressing...
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Apple is readying iOS 4.3.3 to fix the iOS location tracking "bug," where an unencrypted consolidated.db file continues to grow, and grow, and grow on the device. Apple will release the update within the next two weeks, or possibly sooner. This isn't a major release, so Apple can spring it on...
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While much attention is focused on Facebook scams and trojans involving Osama bin Laden's death, Facebook users should be aware of another new way scammers are spreading links to rogue sites. They have begun to circulate convincing links claiming to be stories from Wired News about the iPhone 5. This scam takes advantage of Facebook’s...
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If you've been following Skype closely, you may remember a unique security hole that was unearthed a few days ago. It caught quite a lot of tracking, and with around 30 million Skypers online each day, it's easy to understand why. Acting swiftly, Skype has just released a new version of Skype...
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Security researchers have discovered that iOS devices have been saving the locations of users' devices at regular intervals, and storing them in an unencrypted, though hidden file. The data includes locations and time stamps, and is...
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AVG launched AVG Family Safety, a new application that is designed to help parents protect their children online. AVG Family Safety acts as a virtual guardian for children by letting parents create age-appropriate settings and profiles for...
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Samsung is taking it on the chin after revelations that a keylogger was found by a Network World writer, on not one but two Samsung computers. Because of the placement of the files in the same location, the writer, security consultant Mohammed Hassan, says in fact that this may be something...
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We're continually surprised at how low online scammers will go to make a quick buck. We suppose we shouldn't be; after all, these folks are some of the scum of the earth, and if you need any more proof of that, just take a look at how they're exploiting the devastating earthquake in Japan...
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Addonics announced the External CipherChain, a hardware encryption product that can encrypt nearly any external storage device with an eSATA or SATA connection, including external RAID storage devices, SSDs, and flash media. With CipherChain, you’ll get added peace of mind knowing that...
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Intel took the wraps off their Sandy Bridge desktop and mobile platforms back in January and with new technologies like an improved integrated HD Graphics engine, Quick Sync video encoding and Turbo Boost 2.0 dynamic overclocking, it was...
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Here's a little lesson in mobile apps: there's a Netflix app for iOS, enabling users to stream 'Watch Instantly' movies to their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. But that same app isn't in the Android Market. In fact, there's no Netflix streaming on Android at all! Isn't that a shame! There are...
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Lenovo and security go together quite well. The company's ThinkPad line has made a name for itself over the years as being one of the most robust, rugged and secure notebook lines on the market. And now, with business users more concerned...
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You don't have to have any rhythm to do the Google Two-Step, which isn't a dance, but a much more secure log-in process. It was previously only available to Google Apps customers, but in a blog post on Thursday, the sultan of search announced it was extending the functionality to all users. So...
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