Archives
Categories
Tag Archives: antivirus
Web Security Snapshot Has Some Surprises
Symantec, a major Net security company, has published a report on Internet security threats of 2011. It’s an interesting snapshot of trends and statistics that makes sobering reading, along with a few eyebrow-raising surprises. Here are some of its highlights: A dangerous new trend among criminals is using shortened URLs to distribute and disguise spam and phishing attacks. These links are conveniently provided by numerous websites to handily replace lengthy strings in addresses, but where they actually point to may be hard to guess. Users are advised to use preview tools to check them out before clicking. Social media sites, especially Facebook, have been cleverly used to spread links to infected sites by crooks taking advantage of people’s expectations and profiles. People using social networking sites are cautioned to be careful about what personal information they post, and when clicking on URLs in email or posted on social media sites even when they come from friends or trusted sources. Macs are not immune: the first Mac-based botnet occurred in 2009. New threats emerged in 2011, including Mac Defender, a fake antivirus program that installs itself without permission. Symantec claims to have identified 4,989 new computer vulnerabilities in just 2011. However, the number of new problems with popular browsers has decreased slightly, Google Chrome having the most dramatic reduction. The amount of spam is actually decreasing, from over 88% of all email in 2010 down to 68% by the end of … Continue reading
10 Free SWCP Services to Help Keep You Secure
At Southwest Cyberport, we know that all we can do to increase our members’ security in their online activities helps keep everybody else safe, too. So we not only offer a lot of good advice to all and sundry right here on the blog, there’s also a number of tools and services we make available to our customers for no extra charge. SWCP Members are invited, nay encouraged, to make full use of them as needed. Just log in at the Members Portal at our website with your username and password. Antispam filters –Whether you use SWCP’s email services through us or have us forward your mail to another box elsewhere, everyone should take advantage of this vigorous suite of email filters. You can block addresses, make sure that mail from other addresses reaches you filtered or unfiltered, and determine just how sensitive you want the filters to be. You can even set up addresses that mail should be forwarded to, or automatic replies for when you’re away. Spamprobe – Also located with our antispam filters, Spamprobe is an additional sophisticated spam filter, one that learns from you. You can actually teach Spamprobe to distinguish spam from good mail, allowing you to further fine-tune your spam filters to keep the junk out. Webmail – Along with our antispam filters, this is a very helpful interface. You can directly manage your email from anywhere in the world with a web browser, … Continue reading
Posted in Online Tools, Resources, Security
Tagged antivirus, passwords, products, remote access, security, spam filters, tech support, webmail
Comments Off
Zombie Alert!
With Halloween coming up, the fear and fascination with the walking dead is everywhere. In recent years, the Centers for Disease Control have used zombie alerts to warn of the flu. Highway departments have also zombie mania to get people to try to slow down, though that has drawn a lot of criticism. But they’re all latecomers. Back in 2007, the FBI issued a warning about zombie attacks. Nothing tongue in cheek about this one, either; it was very serious indeed. These weren’t the kind of modern zombie that wants to eat your brains; these zombies were more traditional in that they have become unwitting, helpless slaves of an evil master. Yet these zombies are not undead flesh and blood; they lust after your PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone to turn them into zombie machines just like the rest to attack other devices. The threat is still quite real, and an infestation can not only quickly destroy your files and render your computer useless to you, but makes it a danger to the entire Internet. Hordes of zombies Zombie programs, also called “bots”, hijack computers through trickery. Infection often occurs when the user is tricked into opening an email attachment with a virus or visits a booby-trapped webpage, though they can also appear in downloaded files. Free screensavers are also a common means of infection, because a screensaver is an executable program. The virus quickly commandeers the computer, to steal … Continue reading