Security specialists Webroot are bringing their knowledge of PC security up into the cloud with their new Internet Security Complete suite. Designed to keep your files and information stored online just as safe as those held locally on your PC, it'll keep you one step ahead of the internet crooks.

Here's the software's key features, according to the press release:

- lets you sync files via the cloud across up to 3 PCs automatically so you can get secure access to your information, anytime and anywhere.
 
- lets you access & share info (10Gb of free storage) like photos & music with friends from any computer device (as long as there's internet access).
 
- makes surfing safer as it checks all URLs in real-time (so not using pre-loaded definitions that date quickly) & tells you if they are safe.
 
- lets you encrypt and store all logins in one secure online vault for safer banking & shopping. Access them from anywhere and you don't need to remember all your passwords, just the one for MyWebroot. Webroot Internet Security Complete will also fill in any forms (e.g. with credit card details) automatically so keyloggers can't record your keystrokes.

A Webroot Internet Security Complete licence for up to 3 PCs costs £49.99, and includes 10B of online storage. Click here to find out more.

Remember the scene from Independence Day when hacker Jeff Goldblum defeats the intergalactic alien army by uploading a computer virus onto their mothership? Well, it looks like the aliens have finally struck back, as US space agency NASA have come under fire from a rather nasty virus themselves.

OK, so it's not as likely to be the alien horde as it is some cheeky little spammer in a dark bedroom somewhere, but that's no less of a reason for us all to get a little alarmed. Dubbed the "Here you have" virus by McAfee, it's spread via an email attachment that, once opened, resends itself to all your contacts before disabling your security systems.

If not pulled into line it has the potential to knock any number of email servers out of action.

While we wait for Brundlefly himself to come and save the day, a word of warning; avoid emails with the subject "Here you have" like the plague.

Another day, another Facebook scam ringing alarm bells over at security specialists Sophos. They've caught wind this time of a scam that tempts users into installing a Dislike button that does nothing more than trawl your profile for sensitive personal info.

The dodgy app lures Facebook users in by sending fake wall messages from the accounts of friends who've already fell foul to the cheats. Avoid any messages like "I just got the Dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!" or "Get the official DISLIKE button now" that may pop up in your friends listings, as they are likely to be links to the offending install.

The install itself is pretty long winded, requiring a suspicious amount of personal details to complete, and eventually re-directing the user to a the FaceMod Firefox add-on, itself a third-party and unauthorised Facebook Dislike app.

So, even though there are plenty of people out there hoping for a Dislike button to compliment the Like button, as it stands an official one simply isn't out there. There's every chance that Facebook will pop it in there eventually, and rest assured that if they did you wouldn't have to go through an elaborate install process to get it. Until then avoid anything masquerading as the real deal.

Via: Sophos

Facebook users beware! Yet another viral scam has hit the social network, aiming to snare all your personal details.

The scam encourages users to "like" and share a post titled "OMG!! Guys, you have to see this: This mother went to jail for taking this pic of her son!", a fake link that users are lead to believe will lead to a photo.

Instead, users are re-directed to an online survey, where the scammers get paid for convincing people to share personal information.

"I really feel like despairing that the general public will ever learn to avoid dodgy links like this," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.  "Criminals these days don't need to spam out their scams - they can rely on the public to spread them for them.  Far too many people are prepared to endorse and share links on Facebook without properly thinking about what they are  doing.  In this case, they're doing it before they have any clue about what lies behind the page."

I somehow doubt the many Facebook scams will make an appearance in the upcoming "The Social Network" flick, based on the site's ridiculously fast growth and popularity.

SecureWorks, the information security service provider, have revealed their findings for what they have dubbed the "World Cup" of cyber security. Mining information on their 2,800 clients, they've compiled a list of which countries are most vulnerable to online attacks.

Users in the USA were found to be most at risk; of 265,700,000 active PCs there were 441,003,516 attempted cyber attacks, or 1,660 attacks per 1,000 computers. India fared best however; with 48,100,000 active PCs, they only experienced 2,516,341 attempted cyber attacks, or a mere 52 per 1,000 PCs.

"The statistics show that a substantial number of vulnerable computers in countries worldwide have been compromised and are being used as bots to launch cyber attacks." said Jon Ramsey, CTO for SecureWorks. "Overall, the study shows that not only are organisations and individuals putting themselves at risk by not securing them, but they are actually providing cyber criminals with a platform to compromise other computers."

"The reasons for the difference in number of attempted attacks per country could comprise many things - this ranges from the overall Internet speeds in a country and how proactive the ISPs are in protecting their clients to general user education on security. The ratio of Windows, Mac and Linux users in a country will also make a big difference," continued Ramsey.

So, at least England fare a little better in this "World Cup" than in the real deal, placing 6th with just 107 attempted cyber attacks per 1,000 PCs. It's also unlikely that you'll ever here the words "India" and "World Cup champions" in the same sentence ever again, but at least I know what country I'll be safest to shop online in the next time I'm abroad.

The full chart of findings can be viewed below.

Hackers have yesterday wreaked havoc with the Facebook, Twitter and blog accounts of Therese Coffey, Conservative candidate for Suffolk Coastal. Explicit messages were sent from Coffey's accounts, with some grim remarks made about Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife.

Coffey eventually regained control of her accounts, and posted this message to Facebook:

"Apologies to everyone. My account has been hacked. Hopefully back under control now. I have the email address of the person who has hacked in, so hopefully I can do something about it."

As politicians increasingly turn to social networking and the wider internet to engage with their constituents, expect to see this sort of smear attack become an increasingly regular occurrence.

Still, you can't help but suspect Gordon Brown is sitting with his laptop somewhere laughing.

Via: London Spin

Facebook are said to be renewing discussions with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) over the installation of a "panic button" on the social network.

Concern grew over the safety of children using the social network after a string of high-profile attacks on youngsters, some of which led to convictions, including that of serial rapist Peter Chapman. However, Facebook at the time felt that adding a panic button application, allowing children who felt threatened online to quickly inform the relevant authorities, to be unnecessary.

Following a period of increased pressure on the security procedures implemented by Facebook, the social network is now said to be in talks with Ceop once again.

"We have continued talking to Ceop and are working very closely with them on a Facebook application that allows Facebook users, when they have concerns, to connect with Ceop," Facebook's director of public policy for Europe told Sky News.

"We have had a number of constructive meetings and are working on a range of innovative approaches that will help educate and raise awareness of how to keep safe online," said another Facebook representative.

Facebook's new stance has come as quite a surprise to Ceop, after Facebook initially insisted that they had their own "safety net" in place to snare online predators.

"We have been in dialogue with Facebook for some time," a Ceop spokesperson said."The recent public discussions were born out of frustration that we could not reach an agreement. Obviously we cannot confirm progress until we have an agreement in place with Facebook, but we are continuing to work with them."

A marketing move to cover for some lacklustre press of late, or a genuine move by Facebook to make their network a safer place for children to access? You decide.

Dr Mark Gasson, a cybernetics scientist at the University of Reading, has become the world's first human to become infected with a computer virus.

Gasson has an RFID (radio-frequency identification) chip implanted into his wrist, and deliberately infected it with a virus as part of an experiment to highlight the risks of having bionic implants. The chip usually is used to emit a signal unlocking locked doors in Gasson's university and allowing only him to access his mobile phone dependant on which hand he is holding it in.

The virus Gasson installed was built to spread through the university lab's databases, and replicate itself onto the swipe cards of his colleagues. Gasson's findings show that viruses can quite easily be spread wirelessly from implanted devices.

Many life-saving devices such as pacemakers now include similar RFID chips in order for doctors to monitor their patients. While a computer virus could not harm Gasson's health, if a virus interfered with the workings of implanted medical devices it could prove fatal.

Via: Sky News

It's been a rough week for Facebook. First their privacy policies were run through the wringer, and now there's another ad scam doing the rounds, looking to poach user's sensitive information.

According to Sophos, thousands have been hit by a malware attack disguised as a naughty video. The "candid camera prank" encourages you to click a thumb of a suggestive image of a woman exercising, which then leads to the option of downloading the "correct video software" to view the clip in question. The download turns out to be an adware installer that grabs all of your info and plagues your desktop with pop-ups.

"You may want to watch a sexy video, but you're more likely to end up being plagued by pop-up advertising," warned Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"Not only is adware being installed on your computer, but the rogue Facebook application is posting the same message to all of your friends' accounts.

"It's no surprise that your friends might click to watch the movie when it looks to all intents and purposes that you are the person who has sent it to them."

It's a double-whammy of FAIL for anyone checking out the dodgy link then; not only will your computer be riddled with pesky advertisements, but all your friends will see you've been looking for a cheap thrill too. Doh!

SmartSwipe, the USB credit card reader that makes shopping online quicker and safer, is now available from Firebox.com.

Great for online shopaholics and those wary of inputting their credit card details online, this USB gadget lets you swipe the card with which you want to make a payment online, automatically encrypting and filling out your details in online shopping forms in the process.

A convenient time-saver, all you have to do is add your 3-digit security card, with the software wizard doing the rest of the work for you. You can then sit back, safe in the knowledge that your card details are protected from hackers and potentially malicious software hiding on your PC.

The SmartSwipe should be compatible with nearly any website that accepts credit or debit card payments.

Priced £69.99, click here to grab one.

Oh dear. Tips of quite a big security flaw in Facebook starting to trickle in.

As detailed in the above video, a newly found flaw in the social network's security procedures means that any user can view the live instant messaging chats of their friends, as well as access pending friend requests of other users and friends shared in common.

In an ironic twist, the exploit that allows this to happen is found through the preview feature of your own privacy settings. In other words, a Facebook security feature that actually puts your sensitive information at risk. *Sigh*

It looks like Facebook are already on the case with intermittent reports of the exploit working for some users now and not others. Let us know if you've noticed any strange activity or if the exploit still works on your account.

CORRECTED - 9.30, 27/04/10
PC-usingiPad owners have been targeted with a new virus. Disguised as an iTunes update that offers better "performance, newer features and security, the download is infact a malicious piece of malware designed to scoop up all your sensitive personal information.

According to BitDefender: "Identified by BitDefender as Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY, the piece of malicious code inadvertently downloaded injects itself into the explorer.exe process and opens up a backdoor that allows unauthorised access to and control over the affected system.

"Moreover, Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY attempts to read the keys and serial numbers of the various software installed on the affected computer, while also logging the passwords to the victim's ICQ, Messenger, POP3 mail accounts, and protected storage."

Keep an eye out for the dodgy download in a suspect email link. Mac users are currently unaffected, but both iPad and PC users should remain vigilant.

Microsoft have today published a report on attitudes towards software piracy. Timed to coincide with the second reading of the Digital Economy Bill, the report reveals that piracy is rampant in both homes and workplaces across the UK.

The poll of 1,000 UK residents carried out by Loudhouse found that 1 in 3 Brits felt software piracy was "acceptable", with 1 in 6 having admitted to using it.

This is despite only a third of those surveyed believing that they fully understood the risks involved with using illegally obtained software.

"People need to understand that there are inherent risks to their own security, including identity theft, from using pirated software products and that they can often be the victim of others' criminal actions, such as an employer using pirated software in the workplace" said Susie Winter from the Alliance Against IP Theft.

While the use of pirated software at home may not come as much of a shock, the survey startlingly revealed that the use of illegal software is also rife in the workplace. 1 in 8 of the participants admitted to using pirate programs at work, with 57% stating that their boss wouldn't find it a problem.

"Businesses have many excuses for not managing software effectively. Cost cutting, ignorance and changes in IT personnel are often cited during legal action," said Julian Swan, director of compliance marketing at the Business Software Alliance. "But the cost of being found using unlicensed software far outweighs any perceived savings. Businesses expose themselves to the risks of fines, reputational damage and data loss if they allow software to be duplicated or downloaded from illegal web sites. It may seem like a cost saving but it's a likely cause of major regret."

US authorities have moved one step closer to finding the hackers behind the recent attacks on search giants Google.

Teams of investigators have tracked the source of the attack to two educational facilities in China. With one institution closely linked to the Chinese military, further weight has been given to accusations of state involvement in the attacks.

A man of 30 has been identified as the creator of part of the spyware code that exploited a security hole in Internet Explorer and compromised Google. However, the hacker is not a full-time government worker, and is believed to have been pressured into his role in the attack by outside sources.

"If he wants to do the research he's good at, he has to toe the line now and again," a US analyst said. "He would rather not have uniformed guys looking over his shoulder, but there is no way anyone of his skill level can get away from that kind of thing. The state has privileged access to these researchers' work."

The state-controlled Xinhua news agency have said officials at both schools have distanced themselves from any knowledge of the attacks.

Via: Financial Times

New research from laptop security company Absolute Software has revealed that a third of all British laptop thefts happen at home. This is far higher than any other country around the world.

The study, carried out in conjunction with YouGov, showed that 32% of UK laptop thefts happened in the home, compared to 22% in France, 18% in the US and 17% in both Germany and Canada.

Dave Everitt, General Manager, at Absolute Software commented: "This research will surprise some laptop owners, who often only think about security issues when they are on the move. However, with nearly a third of all laptop thefts in Britain occurring at a residential property, owners need to be extra cautious when leaving devices home alone."
 
Thefts from cars accounted for 24 per cent of reports filed in the UK, with public transport coming in third place at 8 per cent. Coffee shops and airports, locations often associated with laptop use, accounted for a comparatively low percentage - just 2 per cent each.
 
"There is a range of security measures that laptop owners can take, from simply locking their laptop in a secure location to installing software that enables personal files to be remotely deleted, tracked and even recovered. With the amount of sensitive information now being stored on laptops and subsequent identity theft, personal security can not be compromised," concluded Everitt.

Had a bad experience with laptop theft, or any gadget storing personal info for that matter? Let us know.

It's been just a few days since the launch of Google's Buzz social network, but already users are complaining about being inundated with spam messages.

According to Websense Security Labs, phishing scams, disguising themselves as quit smoking guides are already causing users headaches.

Twitter was able to defend itself from spam for many months after its launch. If Buzz aims to win over the masses, getting rid of the spam would give it a great upper hand over Facebook.

Websense hopes that Google has prepared ways to deal with the volume of spam it is bound to see on the new service. Until then, the company is advising users to use caution when clicking on unknown links.

Storage giants Buffalo have today unveiled the latest version of their TeraStation III iSCSI product range.

The Buffalo TeraStation III iSCSI Desktop and 1U Rackmount units offer data transfer speeds of up to 92MB/s, allowing critical business data to be managed, stored and backed up quickly, efficiently and securely. The desktop unit is available in capacities of 2TB and 4TB, whilst the 1U Rackmount unit is available in 2TB, 4TB, 6THB and 8TB.

Paul Hudson, Northern European Sales Director, Buffalo Technology, said: "The potential for iSCSI within small and medium sized business environments is enormous. The TeraStation III iSCSI will allow organisations to back up all their data and make it appear as just another drive on the server. The beauty of iSCSI is that you can aggregate a lot of different devices into one logical volume and for IT managers this makes life infinitely easier and cheaper than backing up to the primary storage tier.

The Buffalo TeraStation III iSCSI for Desktop or 1U Rackmount features include:

* Fully populated, 4 bay, 4 drive device
* Up to 92MByte/s iSCSI high speed data transfer
* Supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 10 and Standard
* Advanced RAID system to continually check hard drive performance
* Resilient - Replace faulty hard drives with the Hot Swap functionality without interruption of work
* Hot Spare feature automatically switches failed drive to spare drive to ensure redundancy
* Dual Ethernet connectivity for port trunking
* 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet port and Jumbo Frame capability for higher transfer speeds
* LCD Status Display, easy setup wizard management through intuitive web interface
* Supports UPS connectivity via USB port
* Supported OS: Windows Server 2003/2008, Windows®7(64/32bit), Windows® Vista™, Windows® XP, Windows® 2000 (32bit), Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004/2005
* Available as Desktop or 1U 19" Rackmount
* Warranty 3 Years
* Available as 2TB, 4TB, (Desktop), 2TB, 4TB 6TB and 8TB capacities (Rackmount)

For availability and pricing information, visit www.buffalo-technology.com.

The CA Internet Security Business Unit have released their latest State of Internet security report, revealing that rogue or fake security software, major search engines, social networks and Web 2.0 threats were the most notable online security issues in 2009.

As if the current wave of security threats on the web were not trouble enough, CA believe that cyber crime is about to evolve into even more devious forms. Mobile devices are now more likely than ever to be targeted, as is cloud stored data, while the current economic climate may push internal employees of businesses to exploit online data in their possession.

"Businesses are at threat from all angles - not only are they susceptible to both external and internal scams, data losses and theft , but they are also at risk every time their employees use search engines, email and social networking sites at work," said Joseph Souren, Vice President EMEA for CA's Internet Security Business Unit. "Businesses that fall victim to cybercrime not only face costs associated with repairing systems hit by attacks but also in lost productivity from disruptions."

Cybercrime costs UK businesses £3.84 billion each year.

First Google, now Twitter is standing up against this latest wave of web censorship. The brains behind the micro-blogging phenomenon have revealed that they are looking into ways to protect Twitter from Big Brother's uncomfortable gaze.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Twitter's chief executive Evan Williams spoke of Twitters resilience.

"We are partially blocked in China and other places and we were in Iran as well," Evans said to event's collected press.

"The most productive way to fight that is not by trying to engage China and other governments whose very being is against what we are about."

Though he didn't detail how Twitter plan to defend themselves, he did cryptically allure to "technological ways" to blinker would be attackers. More news on this as it becomes available.

Microsoft are about to roll out a security update that should see users of Internet Explorer 6 protected from the attacks that have caused the French and German governments to condemn the browser.

The vulnerability highlighted by the recent phishing attack on Google is the priority fix, but the update will also address other weak spots in the browser.

Microsoft assure that the update will keep users safe while browsing the web, but also encourage users to upgrade to the IE 8 browser for maximum protection.

Are you a dyed-in-the-wool Internet Explorer user, sticking with Microsoft on this one? Or are you going to try web-pastures new and have a go with maybe the Chrome, Firefox or Opera browsers?

Let us know.