Ze Blogger

Ymeak Worm : the Masquerade

2007-04-23T15:51:00.000+03:00

BitDefender virus analysts warn users of P2P networks of a new threat.
The Ymeak.A worm has been spreading like wildfire, in part due to a
simple yet effective social engineering technique: it masquerades as
an installer executable of some popular program.

When it is first run, the worm displays a message ('The setup file is
corrupted') to lull the user into a false sense of security. It then
proceeds to download and install the RBot trojan. This done, the
trojan begins to spread itself from the victim's computer using any
of five file-sharing networks (Limewire, Shareaza, Bearshare,
Morpheus or Morpheus Ultra) as a vector and a new name.

"The bit of evil genius here is that the name for each new copy of the
worm is chosen at random from certain torrent and direct download
sites. This way, the worm will always have an attractive name, so
people will attempt to download and run it." declared Head of
Antivirus Lab Viorel Canja for BitDefender.

BitDefender users are not at risk and should let BitDefender antivirus
disinfect the infected files (if any are found).

Vista zero-day exploit code blocked.

2007-03-30T15:13:00.001+03:00

Malware exploiting the latest unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft Windows has been found in the wild and blocked by BitDefender.Microsoft has not yet released a patch for the flaw which leaves Windows users vulnerable to attacks in the form of malicious e-mails or crafted web pages.

read more | digg story

BitDefender has launched the support forums

2007-03-27T02:12:00.001+03:00

We are glad to announce you that starting from today you, all our users, fans and helpers, have a place to get all the information and the support you need in one place. We hope that this forum will be a good place for finding support and general discussions for all of you.

read more | digg story

BitDefender Mail Server Products Twin for Beta

2007-03-02T20:57:00.001+02:00

BitDefender Security for Exchange and BitDefender Security for Mail Servers (Windows) betas on. Most thorough beta testers to win a professional notebook, a smart phone, four mp3 players and 10 licenses for BitDefender Security for File Servers.

read more | digg story

BitDefender Achieves Checkmark Premium Certification

2007-02-26T16:50:00.001+02:00

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – January 4, 2006 – BitDefender®, an award-winning provider of antivirus software and data security solutions, today announced that its anti-spam engine has been awarded the Checkmark PC anti-spam certification by independent UK certification outfit West Coast Labs. By blocking 97 percent of all spam during the certification p

read more | digg story

Poison Valentine

2007-02-15T19:41:00.001+02:00

BitDefender® Labs issued a warning today stating that new variants of the Peed trojan are being heavily seeded by use of spam e-mail with Valentine's Day - related subjects and bodies. The messages have titles like 'Happy Valentine's Day' and contain executable attachments which are actually trojans.

read more | digg story

AMD's 'Frantic Price Cuts' May Pressure Intel

2007-02-15T19:39:00.001+02:00

Price competition is sparking up again between the world's largest chip makers, Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD).

read more | digg story

IBM Adds Anti-Virus to ISS Endpoint Security Tools

2006-11-21T17:55:00.001+02:00

IBM unveiled an updated version of Internet Security Systems' desktop security package on Nov. 20, adding new anti-virus and anti-spyware capabilities to the offering via an alliance with software maker BitDefender.
Expected to arrive before the end of 2006, ISS Proventia Desktop Endpoint Security aims to help companies manage the protection of PCs from external attacks.
With the integration of anti-virus tools provided by BitDefender, based in Ft. Lauterdale, Fla., the ISS system now offers personal firewall, intrusion prevention, buffer overflow protection, application and communications defense, and virus prevention technologies.
The release marks the first update of ISS' flagship endpoint security software since IBM, of Armonk, N.Y., purchased the company for $1.3 billion in August 2006, and follows the firm's roll out of a new ISS-branded security management appliance on Nov. 13, the first product released after the companies' merger.

Just as anti-virus market leader Symantec has rolled its desktop and Internet security tools into multi-function packages, IBM officials said they are expanding the ISS software to offer more tightly integrated security applications.

In addition to giving IT administrators a single interface to manage multiple desktop security functions, IBM executives said that pulling the various technologies together to operate using a single software agent on the PC lets the individual tools better share information to help ward off outside attacks.
While previous iterations of Proventia Desktop Endpoint Security have featured advanced behavior-based anti-malware technologies, the addition of BitDefender's software adds more traditional signature-based virus protection to the package.
Anti-virus vendors use the signature-based systems to help users battle threats that have already been identified by security researchers, whereas behavior-based tools excel at discovering new attacks, such as the recent crop of so-called zero day vulnerability exploits.

Company officials estimate that ISS' behavior-based anti-virus and anti-spyware technology can identify over 90 percent of all malware threats, but said the addition of signature-oriented tools helps provide for anything the system might miss.

"For a lot of the customized malware that we're seeing out there, using signature-based anti-virus would be like giving vaccine to a corpse, but conversely there are thousands of malware attacks out there that can be effectively mitigated using this type of approach, and customers want defense in depth," said Joshua Corman, host protection architect for IBM ISS.
Corman said that customers are also pushing security software makers to fold traditional anti-virus tools into more advanced technologies, as they know the more sophisticated approach catches more attacks, but they have become comfortable with having signature-based scanning and remediation in-house.

As a next step, ISS is experimenting with adding other tools to the Proventia Desktop Endpoint Security package to help protect against internal threats, including DLP (data leakage prevention) technology and tools used to manage user privileges for saving data to portable storage devices.

Pushed by the arrival of security products from Microsoft and continued demand from customers for more integrated products, Corman said that IBM and its rivals will likely find themselves joining more alliances such as the company's deal with BitDefender to help make their products as inclusive as possible, and to help the smaller companies find new avenues to market.

"Clearly there continues to be obvious drivers for consolidating security technologies from the management side, and then there are all the benefits that can be appreciated from having these tools work together, as in this product with a single agent," Corman said.
"Companies who are relying primarily on signature-based anti-virus won't be able to stop serious attacks like root kits and ransomware, but customers still enjoy the familiarity of those products, so combining the two is really the best approach."

IBM is still planning to deliver its new Proventia Management SiteProtector appliances before the end of November. Those products, which are also aimed at helping companies simplify oversight of different types of security tools, take the integrated strategy one step further by combining the products in a hardware form factor powered by a dedicated microprocessor.

While the appliance approach is gaining popularity in the security market, Corman said that enterprise customers still mostly prefer to consume their applications in the more traditional software format.
While greater numbers of large customers are buying the security devices, he said, many prefer to have the ability to pull the various applications apart to customize them to meet their specific demands.

Source - eWEEK

Microsoft Virtual Earth - Real 3D; Real Thing

2006-11-07T02:52:00.000+02:00

Microsoft launched today Microsoft Virtual Earth a real competitor for Google Earth. Unlike GEarth this tool works directly in your browser and has extended capabilites to render buildings and surroundings. An extended review for this topic here.

Microsoft is unveiling its integration of detailed 3D imagery into its Virtual Earth this afternoon (see Live.com). Users with Vista-ready Windows computers and IE 6 or 7 will be able to navigate through an aerial view of 15 select cities with enough detail to discern the texture of buildings and read clickable billboards from the likes of Fox, Nissan and John L. Scott Real Estate. Virtual Earth 3D is expected to expand to cover up to 100 cities around the world by the end of next summer. Source: Techcrunch.com

Phishers Arrested In Eastern Europe and US

2006-11-07T00:11:00.000+02:00

The FBI is trying to crack down an operation of phishing involving trading of social security numbers, sale of stolen credit card account information, the practice of using e-mail to trick consumers into turning over personal information. The opertion is called Operation Cardkeeper and brought the arrest of dozens of USA citizen as well as citzens of other countries involved in this community of "carding" and traficing of stolen identities.

"We are sharing evidence and using sophisticated techniques like never before," said James E. Finch, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division. "Cyber criminals will no longer be able to hide behind borders to conduct their illicit business."

Members of this type of communities were electronically copying the magnetic bands of credit and/or debit cards for use in counterfeiting cards for cash withdrawals or online shopping. Brought to the face of justice were Frederick T. Hale, 27, and Zanadu Lyons, 24, both of Columbus, Ohio, and Dana Carlotta Warren, 29, of Ellenwood, Ga.
Also different authorities that were assisted by FBI managed to arrest 11 people from Poland that are believed to be connected to the international ring of Cyber criminals.

An anonymous reader writes to let us know about the roundup of a phishing gang by the FBI and authorities in Poland and Romania. 18 arrests were made in what the FBI calls "Operation Cardkeeper." The gang has allegedly been selling stolen identities and information on credit cards and bank accounts since at least 2004. To remind us what a drop in the bucket such international operations are, the article says: "The Anti-Phishing Working Group, an industry consortium, said more than 10,000 phishing Web sites were active on the Internet in August, about double the number of sites in January." Source: Slashdot.org

Vista, Office 2007, Exchange 2007 To Launch for Businesses Nov. 30

2006-11-06T18:39:00.001+02:00

by Stuart J. Johnston

Microsoft will be announcing that the volume license
availability of Windows Vista on Nov. 30, along with availability of Office 2007
and Exchange Server 2007, a company spokesperson has confirmed.

"Microsoft is hosting a press conference on November 30 to
talk about business availability of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Exchange
Server 2007 and Windows Vista,"the spokesperson said in an e-mail.

The
end of November date means that Vista will officially just make the company's promises made early last spring for delivery to corporate.
While the spokesperson would not confirm the location, it has been widely
reported that yesterday the company sent invitations out to selected members of
the press, saying it will take place in New York.
According to Microsoft,
consumer releases of Vista and Office 2007 are still on track for early 2007.

Stuart J. Johnston has
covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld,
Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise
Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines. You can contact Stuart
about Vista, Office 2007, Exchange 2007 To Launch for Businesses Nov. 30 at stuartj1@mindspring.com.

Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta

2006-11-06T17:13:00.000+02:00

The guys from Lifehacker created a screenshot gallery of the upcoming Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta, the new mail client that will be bundeled along with Windows Vista. The software is still in Beta but highly functional and crowded with usefull features.
The mail client is available for download in beta state, but isn't available for any country.

It bundles feeds, contacts, newsgroups and multiple email accounts (with seamless Gmail support!) into an attractive interface with fast as-you-type search that rivals Google Desktop. Now this is an improvement over Outlook Express - except for the part where you have to sign in with your Windows Live ID (aka Passport) to use it.
Gina Trapani - Lifehacker.com

On the Lifehacker there is also available another screenshot tour of Windows Vista Mail.