Archive for November, 2006

Fake video codecs are now among the top sources of spyware and malware infections. Thousands of Internet users download and install such codecs every single day. As a result, we receive numerous reports of widely spread trojans, corrupt anti-spyware programs, browser hijackers and other malicious pests. More...

New security vulnerability in the second most popular web browser Mozilla Firefox has been discovered yesterday. It is called a reverse cross-site request, or RCSR, flaw. It can be exploited in order to steal user confidential information (passwords, login names, personal details) stored in the Firefox Password Manager. More...

It’s never been easier to make your own "number one" spyware remover. All you have to do is to grab an infamous rogue like SpyAxe or Spyware Quake, rebrand it by changing some words in its interface or replacing some of its icons and design elements, and voila, now you can sell your own latest solution in spyware removal! Of course, in a few days you will get charged of illegally distributing ineffective, poor performance software. If you are lucky enough to live in a country where Internet is still a synonym of some alien technology, no one will ever (not in this decade, I suppose) put you in jail for spreading malware, stealing from people and violating copyright. More...

Earlier this month, we wrote that Zango, the infamous adware company, has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a suit brought by the FTC alleging that the company used bad practices to install adware to millions of computers around the world without end user knowledge and consent. It was very good news that experts and regular users expected for years. We believed that FTC has finally put an end to illegal distribution of Zango adware, which is among the most widely spread unsolicited software. More...

Sunbelt Software, makers of the popular CounterSpy anti-spyware program, published interesting examples of creative image spam. Image spam is a new form of spam where bogus e-mail messages come with no text that can be detected by regular anti-spam filters. Instead, images containing spam are embedded in letters or automatically downloaded from the Internet using hyperlinks or the OLE technology. More...

Earlier this month, Zango, the infamous adware company, has agreed to pay $3 million dollars to settle a suit brought by the U. S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). More...

Yesterday, we wrote about new extremely critical vulnerability in Microsoft software utilized by an exploit that installs malware to computers running Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7. Today, it's another new flaw. It was discovered more than a week ago, but hackers began actively exploiting it just now. More...

New extremely critical vulnerability has been discovered in Microsoft XML Core Services. This flaw can be exploited in order to execute malicious code remotely, i. e. More...

Zango, formerly 180solutions, the infamous adware company known for its adware and trackware programs like ZangoSearch and 180SearchAssistant, has agreed to pay three million dollars to settle a suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that company's software was installed to millions of computers around the world without end user knowledge and consent. The suit also charges that Zango was deliberately trying to implement specific functionality in its software that would complicate its removal. According to FTC, Zango affiliates - third-party distributors of Zango adware, were using unfair and deceptive practices to push unsolicited software to user computers. More...