Spyware developers net huge profits, outrage

An recent article about the alleged spyware publisher Direct Revenue and their competitors in the pop-up ad industry which reap $2 billion in annual revenues. The New York company has been producing pop advertising to sell advertising space for years. The article outlines the industry, the companies business practices and their high conflict public relations. It is not uncommon for consumer feedback to include the f-word.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Repair Windows

Registry, Windows Registry and Restoring the Registry

 

Re: PC Optimization, Maintenance & Registry Cleaning, RegCure is the Best there is, says Paul Taylor

"... I prefer RegCure because it has additional features including the ability to manage the programs that launch when Windows fires up."

http://www.ft.com/

 

Adware agency cannibalism

This interesting article follows up on a similar piece by business that claims popup advertiser Direct Revenue intentionally created software ‘torpedoes’ to destroy competitors' and other adware vendor’s software. They have recently been taken to court by competitor Avenue Media over that specific practice. 

http://blogs.zdnet.com/

 

Teenagers used to push Zango on MySpace

MySpace, a teenage networking hot spot, has now been hit by adware. According to this article, a company called Zanga has found a way make their Adware available in MySpace and encourage unknowing users to distribute it through video files. Check out this link to get the whole story.

http://www.vitalsecurity.org 

 

Vishing is the new Phishing

Scammers are moving away from new technology and getting victims to pick up the phone instead of clicking on a link. As Internet users are getting wiser not to click on mysterious links to fill out personal information, voice phishing (Vishing) is something we are starting to see more and more. A phone number is now provided and users are requested to provide personal information through a automated voice service.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

 

New Microsoft Vulnerability Exploited
The day after Microsoft releases their latest patch to fix an Excel vulnerability, evidence of a similar security flaw in Microsoft PowerPoint has surfaced. Opening a malicious PowerPoint through an email can allow for a successful attack. This security hole can allow an attacker to achieve total control over a user’s computer. Microsoft has recognized this security flaw but was too late in the engineering process to add the patch in the last update.
http://news.com.com//
 
Virus, Spyware and Spam Convergence
Viruses, Spyware and Spam used to be separate entities. Virus Writers wrote viruses, Spammers sent out mass email and Spyware firms created spyware. That article describes the convergence between the three to effectively challenge computer security in the future. Hacking threats are also not just on email, instant messenger and on the web but are converging to use all three at once. You could see a spammer using spyware to retrieve contact information and use the three forms of media as a spamming vehicle.
Find out more at:

http://www.technewsworld.com
 
Financial services need more that passwords to prevent Phishing
Security experts are urging financial institutions to use “two-factor authentication” instead of simply a password to securely identify their customers. This could be an access card that the customer has in possession and can not give out over e-mail or a telephone. The recent wave of phishing activities involving financial institution client information has made this growing issue among security critics.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/
 
Sophos Uncovers mimick worm virus through AIM.
A worm virus called Cuebot-K, that is created to mimick Microsoft’s trusted and well used Windows Authentication Software has been recently uncovered. Anti-virus firm Sophos alleges that Cuebot-K was being spread over the AOL Internet Messaging (AIM) network. Click on the link below for the full article.

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32934
 
Yahoo And MSN Messenger now inter-compatible
As of July 12th, 2006 Yahoo messenger and MSN messenger have released a proof of concept in a limited public beta that allow both programs to interoperate. A Yahoo user and an MSN messenger user will be able to send messages between programs, see when each other are online and even see each other’s emoticons. Check out the link below to get all of the details.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,126401,00.asp
 
Hacker’s 9 year prison sentence upheld by federal court
A 23 year old Detroit man, stealing credit card information from an unsecured Wi-Fi connection was sentenced to 9 years in prison in 2003. A Federal court ruling on Monday has concluded that he will serve the rest of his sentence until 2011. Read on by clicking the link below.

http://www.wired.com/
 
Gates says: 80% Chance Microsoft Vista will be Ready for January
Microsoft’s next operating system Vista has been under development since the release of Windows XP. It is currently in beta testing and has been promised to stay that way until any possible shortcoming are either fixed or ruled out. This is a bold statement for Gates as Vista has been delayed numerous times already.

http://www.physorg.com/
 
Windows 98 and ME go to the Microsoft Archives
On July 11th Microsoft has announced that will be retiring its support for Windows 98 and ME. The reasons for this announcement are the criticisms of these products for poor performance, bugs and glitches and security vulnerabilities. Microsoft recommends that users upgrade to XP as soon as possible in order to continue customer and technical support. The already existing support documentation will continue to remain on the Microsoft website. To get the entire article, click below.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/

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