What drives a potential developer to come up with their own anti-spyware software? Well for sure, it is the part where he would experience such a inconvenience and apparently for Blue Penguin Software founder Carl Haugen, this lead to the development of SpyZooka.

SpyZooka guarantees 100% removal of spyware, adware, Trojan horses, hijackers, botnets and other malware threatening the security of your computer. SpyZooka will accomplish this in an astoundingly fast 24 hours! Blue Penguin backs up this guarantee with solid results, round the clock technical support and a string of satisfied customers.

The success of SpyZooka has been quiet since 2004. In fact, SpyZooka was not even among the top anti-spyware software that we would come across the web. But regardless, SpyZooka is not a hoax or pushover. It has even gotten a number of prestigious awards including Wugnet’s Shareware Hall of Fame and Tucows five cows.

So how is this new software reliable? Well for one, it covers most of the hazards of the web today including Trojans, spyware, adware hijackers and botnets. Much of these malicious things reside on the web and on some websites that we rarely notice. So if that were the case, we need protection especially now that people are at fever-pitch attachment towards using the web for various purposes such as browsing or sending a simple email.

If you are in the market and want a reliable software to help you out, check SpyZooka out. It can make a difference and perhaps resolve problems faster than other spyware annihilators available today.

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Tags: Malware, spyzooka, trojans

Categories: Malware, Network Security, News, Spyware

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Downloading files such as audio on the web is nothing new. In fact, it has become an addicting way to get good music absolutely free. But before we do go on enjoying this privilege, we also have to take into consideration that freebies can provide us more than good files to cherish. They can also carry viruses to which many of us may not be totally aware off.

One thing about viruses is you cannot immediately pinpoint them. Unless you have a very reliable virus scanner, chances are you may not even be aware that you have malware or viruses on your computer. This has been proven before. Not until you are able to do a proper scan for potential security threats to your computer and the files in it will you wake up and see at the mess you have downloaded. You may have gotten the files free from the web but you also have bonuses like having a totally infected computer for all your effort.

This is not new to us anymore. We have been hearing such problems from friends or even reported in leading websites such as technology-based articles. The threats are for real. Apparently we just choose to ignore these warnings at times and while single computers can be remedied, what if you are a workstation inside a network?

Viruses and Trojans can easily make their way and multiply to other sites. Through connectivity which a single PC may have, it would not be surprising to note that having lurking viruses that can spread like crazy can really occur.

Tags: downloads, Malware, trojans

Categories: Malware, Network Security, Spyware

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Viruses may seem to be the tiniest and easiest prey to figure out with the right software but as far as catching them as guinea pigs and advanced study has to be the developer’s nightmare since they are not easy to catch. Further, if they are not properly isolated and understood, one false move may result into something entirely dangerous for the computer and even the network should that certain computer be connected to a local or wide area network.

We tip our hats of to the anti-virus developers. Without a doubt, they work hard and provide updates as often as possible so that these viruses can be easily understood. Also, preventive measures in order to avoid them from creating problems such as becoming gateways for outside hackers or perhaps even becoming a threat towards system resources are just a few of the mischief that they cause.

Apparently such is the story of such people who have long and toiled to help protect us from potential risks by these viruses. But if you could understand in full on how they deal with these things, then perhaps you may find it harder than the standard animal hunting that we all know of.

Anti-virus companies play a losing game. Casting their nets wide, they catch common, malicious viruses and worms (known to the industry as “malware”), but it may take days before their software updates can prepare your computer for the next attack. By then it could be too late. And some insidious programs prove immune to anti-virus software, residing inside your computer for months or even years, collecting personal information and business secrets.

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Tags: anti-virus, Malware, protection, research

Categories: Malware, Network Security, News, Real-World Issues, Spyware

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If you have had problems with viruses and malware, one thing you will notice these days that some of them still manage to get through your anti-virus barriers. Just when you though that your PC is already fully protected, you will notice at some point some abnormal behavior such as blue screens or sudden shutdowns occurring.

At this point, many would attribute it to hardware or faulty software. But if you have the chance, do some research or access online scanning services from leading anti-virus software companies. Scan all your hard drives and leave it for a couple of hours. For sure you will be surprised at the various viruses present in your computer and immediately check if you can update the virus definition files to keep your software up to date.

While that would be a good recourse, chances are the viruses will still not be detected. One thing about software manufacturers in the anti-virus category, most of them differ in terms of identifying security risks and viruses that make their way into your computer. Whether they come from careless opening files from storage devices or from online access using your browser, there will always be files that will get through.

If there is one consolation from it all is that not all files are dangerous. Some of them may be cookies or adware and would normally be categorized. This is what separates software these days. They have their own level of threats to which some may be exaggerated.

Tags: adware, anti-virus, cookies, Malware, Spyware

Categories: IT Security Basics, Malware, Operating Systems, Spyware

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The admittance by an executive from within the industry was sure to happen and doing so may have given more importance on how you implement online security at home and in the office for knowing you are never always protected is the norm of the internet. There is no one software or provider that can promise total protection whatever the case and you are always infected with one form or the other how ever expensive the anti-virus software you have installed on your computer system. The industry is also in a dilemma of how best to present information on the ones that got away and caused mayhem before they caught it and issued a cure. You only hear of the ones they get and not the other way round, why, it’s bad for business. Getting your clients to know that they are not the total solution might get them thinking that if that’s the case, why spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year for something that may be effective? There are even instances that these programs that are designed to protect us from viruses and malware being infected and doing the dirty work themselves.
All the hype about technology and new software development tools also mean nothing for the very people who does the programming for these anti-virus programs also have the ability to use it for no good. The reality of using the net is to accept the fact that every click may be your last and that is the gauntlet you walk each and every day as you surf, download and do whatever you wish over the internet. True that it has allowed us more freedom and information but it also opened up the world to these scoundrels who are up to no good.

Tags: anti-virus, anti-virus-software, hackers, Malware, Software development

Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, Privacy & Anonymity, Programming, Real-World Issues, Security Policies, Spyware

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The Anti-Virus industry has been rendered ineffective for quite sometime and this came into attention only with one industry expert speaking out of the crowd to say so “AS IS”. We have all been under the impression that the security of our PC’s, Laptops and other computers has been quite effective and robust with online active updates that allows them to deal with evolving threats. The problem is as the discussion states, how do you deal with today’s millions upon millions of viruses and other forms of threats without super-computing status? You can’t, that is the reality we have to face that there is no one solution to the problem and that it is going to stay that way.
Anti-virus software engineers do their jobs round the clock to prevent these malware form doing the most harm on the millions if not billions of computers around the world that connects to the internet daily. As one sector of the globe goes to sleep, another wakes up to a new day of infections and threats that is exaggerated more by the constant online status of some pc’s meaning they are always connected whatever time of day it is. Imagine scanning through a database that can give you the ability to determine a virus among the millions of known types, variants and mutations (even with a super-computer it takes time) every time you download a file or click on an internet link, that would be unfathomable. The best these guys can do and hope for is that they (the many anti-virus vendors) get to the problem early on when the virus or malware is still propagating when they can still reverse engineer it, then issue the proper identifiers along with the removal instructions that they send out to their respective clients hoping they are still not infected and spreading the virus themselves.
If they already are infected, it takes more time to formulate an approach on how to remove the problem form the computer system leaving it untouched and without the threat. This is almost next to impossible for any seasoned PC user knows that anything that is installed stays installed (even fragments of files and other programs) long after the known un-install procedure has been done. The only sure way to clear an infected system would be to re-format the hard drive and then re-install the whole myriad of software and drivers that came out with the PC (most of them are lost during the years necessitating an online search from manufacturer sites and other help sites which may also be infected), losing them is suicide for a PC without proper drivers is like a car without brakes that constantly breaks down and has to try to get itself to run to a level of its former self.

Tags: anti-virus, Malware, Software development, viruses

Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, News, Operating Systems, Privacy & Anonymity, Real-World Issues, Security Policies, Spyware, Tips

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He has ruled the computer industry for a long time with the introduction of Windows through Microsoft and has left his mark on the lives of most if not all those who have used their software, Bill Gates has finally stepped out (for real this time) of the Microsoft management for good. Even as the news was still warm and getting out into the wild, another attack on the software giant has been detected and reported by the security provider WebSense about a fake OS patch that is aimed to address some vulnerabilities in Microsoft software. The supposed patch redirects users to a malicious web page that installs malware on the unsuspecting user.

“It’s a deception attack, where it is made to look like a Microsoft update and the user has to take action, rather than an exploit where the user gets infected without saying yes to the download,” Hubbard said. (Hubbard is a Chief Technology Officer at Websense)

Most seasoned users of Microsoft products, know that the company does not send notification of software patches through email (which is done by their AutoUpdate system that automatically does all the work for you…. well, even without you for some updates are unstoppable if you have your system on automatic mode). Any unsuspecting user that clicks on the “Yes” button to get the said update gets a backdoor program installed instead without any warnings. The wide open door can then be used by hackers to obtain information about the user or even take over the victim computer as another minion in the never ending battle between malware and security experts. The hackers managed to go around spam filtering systems by using a redirection path that aims the browser to the web site of the US Secret Service which is a sure sign of more devious acts to come.
The complexity and knowledge of hackers on how to circumvent security is very much a threat to all internet users and still remains a real threat for all of us who use the internet each day.

Source : SC Magazine

Tags: Backdoor, Malware, Redirected Sites

Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, News, Operating Systems, Privacy & Anonymity, Real-World Issues, Security Policies, Tips

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Panda software, a developer of security systems and anti-virus software has raised the alarm regarding a massive cyber attack on vulnerable IIS Server based web pages. The malware once it gets in re-directs users to malicious sites from totally legitimate web sites. The infection grew from less than half a million infected servers to almost double that which is quite fast for a specific type of malware. Most developers who employ “code scrubbing”, which is removing information as it is saved into an SQL database are easy prey and are the intended target of the massive attack that is still taking place. An I frame is inserted to redirect users to malicious sites that can lead to identity thefts even with the users not knowing about it.
The attack is centered on Microsoft’s IIS web Server in particular ASP pages that have very strong ties to SQL databases. Panda and Fsecure have both identified the hidden code (“) that can be deep in their web pages and advises them to look for the string that re-directs people to other sites. Users and Site Administrators are advised to get all updates from Microsoft to remedy the problem and to halt the spread of this attack once and for all.
All this to bug people who use the web all over the world, in the never ending battle between hackers and those who are up to take them head on.

Tags: ASP Web Pages, Malware, Microsoft IIS, SQL Databases

Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, News, Real-World Issues, Security Policies, Spyware

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The Sans Institute has identified and determined the source of infections to some 20,000 web sites since January through research and extensive review of web sites and how they work. They have identified the point of entry for these attacks which capitalizes on a sneaky tool that uses Google’s search engine as it searches for specific types of vulnerable applications. They have also found that the process is automated, meaning they were not “live” attacks which has a user on the other end initiating it. The search tool works by finding vulnerable software and then executes a simple SQL statement that injects a script tag onto the discovered site. The exploit was designed to target Microsoft Window’s ISS which once infected, has the ability to infect all who visit the site. The sad side is that again, the malware is found and has been traced to report back to China which enforces more need for security on their side of the globe.
Their people were so thrilled at the discovery which they called a “GEM” due to the scarcity of such discoveries in the wild (internet). Discovery of such Trojans and other malware allows prompt response and sending out of updated signatures to anti-virus software and other intrusion prevention tools that prevents the spread to continue. They may have been lucky this time for the majority of malware out in the wild are not only very complex in terms of coding but have the ability to morph into totally different forms as they travel from computer to computer through the internet. The best way to avoid such problems would be to stay off the internet, which is next to impossible due to the current prevalence of the said technology in our everyday lives.

Tags: Google search tool, Malware, Web Site piggy-back

Categories: General, IT Security Basics, Malware, Network Security, News, Real-World Issues, Security Policies, Spyware

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Recent studies are showing that having merely traditional Anti-Virus Programs Installed onto a computer is proving to be highly ineffective with today’s code morphing malware. The complexity and uncanny ability of these malware to change signatures defeats most if not all intrusion prevention systems. Hackers have also capitalized on the fact that users trust content that is seemingly from legitimate sources like the recent incident with a Goggle Mail application which is used to archive email from the email company’s servers which incorporated information gathering code. The problem was only found when a programmer unknowingly de-compiled the program and found an email address along with a log-in password to the program author’s mailbox. Upon using the derived information to get into the email account, he found several user information along with usernames and passwords of others who have used the program. He took drastic steps and deleted all information (email) he found not to be the author’s and informed the company which released the program about the incident. The developer simply said an error checking routine or some draft code was arbitrarily left within the released version. They promise not to do so in the upcoming versions of the said archiving program…. Yeah Right.
People have been warned again and again regarding the risk of getting free software and other free stuff that seemingly comes from legitimate sources (not the developer’s page) for they may have embedded payload which they unload once installed. Current Trojans also use swift actions to copy itself onto all peripherals(flash disk, digital camera, digital media players, PDA’s and other similar devices which can hide the code) attached to the system it infected so even a complete Operating System reinstall would only result in reinstallation if re connected to the same system. Other malware simply use the email addresses within certain programs like outlook and messenger sending out copies of itself to all those listed and infecting further computers as it travels all over the world.
The scenario has come to the point experts are talking about implementing a white list of sorts of all valid applications, sources for all legal and safe systems which are to be allowed access to their systems. This would have a sort of inventory program which keeps track from online sources of trusted sites and sources of files and rejecting those which are not included. Manual inclusion would be the Achilles’ heel of such an audit system for any wrong addition would again make it vulnerable to attack.

Tags: Anti-Viruses, Malware, viruses

Categories: General, Malware, Network Security, News, Real-World Issues, Spyware

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