The Network Security. Org

No matter how you measure it, malware is proliferating at unprecedented levels. Last month, PandaLabs and AV-Test each joined the lists of vendors and researchers reporting massive malware growth in 2007. PandaLabs says it now receives an average of over 3,000 new strains of malware every day. AV-Test saw an increase from 973,000 unique malware [...]

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Computer users are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the Mac’s ability to sustain its mostly malware-free existence. Sophos, a computer security company, surveyed 355 computer users, asking them whether they believed Apple’s Macintosh computers will be targeted more frequently by malware in the future.

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The number of malware code samples in the wild grew 30% to 410,000 in 2007, according to security researchers at IBM’s ISS division. The Storm Worm, in particular, accounted for 13% of the entire malware collection.

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In the first column of this year, I discussed computer security outlook and hopes for 2008. I forecast more of the same that we saw in 2007: more spam, more malware, more bad guys basically owning the Internet and our connected computers. I don’t see any trends or new leaders with significant power to change [...]

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Referring to the malware known as “random js toolkit,” Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Network Security, said, “While a blacklist may help some users… it’s no substitute for a good set of layered defenses… Security managers need to take a more active role in using management tools.

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A small group of IT security startups are hoping to cash in on the rise of the botnet scourge as businesses — telecommunications carriers and Internet service providers, in particular — seek new methods for stopping the attacks.

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This year, we’ve seen many ARP spoofing viruses, also known as ARP cache-poisoning viruses. This type of malware comes in many variants and is widely spread in China. Recently, we uncovered an ARP spoofing virus that exhibits several new features. The new ARP spoofing virus inserts a malicious URL into the session of an HTTP [...]

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The average life span of a command and control server in an Internet Relay Chat (IRC)-based botnet is less than two months. And these machines and their drones that make up a botnet are typically scattered around the world, a new study on IRC botnets reveals.

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Somewhere in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, a tiny startup has struck Internet gold. Its dozen-odd employees are barely old enough to recall the demise of the Soviet Union, but industry analysts believe they’re raking in well over $100 million a year from the world’s largest banks, including Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual.

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You know about the Storm Trojan, which is spread by the world’s largest botnet. But what you may not know is there’s now a new peer-to-peer based botnet emerging that could blow Storm away. "We’re investigating a new peer-to-peer botnet that may wind up rivaling Storm in size and sophistication," says Tripp Cox, vice president [...]

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