Tag Archives: Security

Mitigating Vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat

On February 19th, Adobe confirmed a critical vulnerability spanning multiple versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat:           A critical vulnerability has been identified in Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9 and earlier versions. This vulnerability would cause the application to …

Mitigating Vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat
   

Data Breach Found on Website of Minnesota Senator

Donors to Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman’s campaign reacted angrily to the news that his campaign website hosted a completely unprotected datebase that contained their names, addresses, credit card numbers, and 3 digit security codes. The breach was revealed by the …

Data Breach Found on Website of Minnesota Senator
   

The PIFTS.exe Conspiracy

On Monday, users of Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus started seeing firewall alerts warning them that an executable named PIFTS.exe was attempting to connect to stats.norton.com. Conspiracy theories immediately started to spread like wildfire. What exactly was PIFTS? Were …

The PIFTS.exe Conspiracy
   

When hackers bypass SSL

A good piece of standard advice to protect against phish attacks is to pay attention to SSL. Bogus web sites can be made to look like the real thing, but before entering in any account details, one precaution is to …

When hackers bypass SSL
   

Manage user rights to minimize incidence of spam

A recent ComputerWorld story noted that a very efficient way to overcome exploits in Windows is to limit the rights of end users. ITWorld’s James Gaskin responded today with a wonderful and to-the-point piece of advice on how to handle the inevitable …

Manage user rights to minimize incidence of spam
   

Phishing Costs Rising Steadily

Phishing is an estimated $3 billion a year industry and the costs incurred by companies who fall victim to such attacks are rising steadily. So says a report by security monitoring firm Cyveillance. Among those costs are fraudulent charges on credit cards, …

Phishing Costs Rising Steadily
   

FBI Ran a Forum for Phishers, Spammers and Hackers.

While criminals thought it was based in Eastern Europe, the Internet’s top English-speaking cybercrime forum was secretly run by the FBI from this building on the banks of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh.  Photo: John Monroe Butler/ Wired.com Kevin Poulsen …

FBI Ran a Forum for Phishers, Spammers and Hackers.
   

To Fight Back, Read What Spammers Read

The Internet Engineering Task Force provides RFC2821, which is an excellent reference for understanding the details of email transport protocols.  In order for email administrators to know what they are up against, in thwarting spammers, RFC2821 should “the” primer to …

To Fight Back, Read What Spammers Read
   

New Wave Of Spam Brings Claims of Nuclear Disasters

The latest wave of fake headline spam appears to be capitalizing on people’s fears of a disaster. Security experts have discovered a new wave of malicious spam that claims a nuclear plant has exploded. So far there are at least …

New Wave Of Spam Brings Claims of Nuclear Disasters
   

New Malware Attack Targets Obama

A massive new spam attack has security vendors warning IT admins to ramp up their spam filters. The spam is of the fake but lurid headline variety, but this time the fake headline targets presidential candidate Barack Obama. The email …

New Malware Attack Targets Obama