virus

Buzz Out Loud 863: Get me off this orb

News of the Yahoo demographic's searching habits arouses a sudden love for space in Brian Cooley today. Also, the Nokia N97 gets a chilly reception, especially in light of all those delectably cheap Netbooks flooding the market. Pownce disappears, Apple suddenly starts recommending antivirus for Mac users, and Microsoft claims the Xbox 360 pwned Black Friday.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 863

iPhone beware, the Nokia N97 is coming (PC World) http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20081202/tc_pcworld/iphonebewarethenokian97iscoming http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10110873-1.html http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1274500

Netbooks dominate cyber-Monday, at … Read more

USB devices spreading viruses

USB thumb drives are convenient, popular and often free--and they're spreading viruses like sailors on shore leave.*

The US-CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) issued a warning on Thursday that malicious code is increasingly propagating via USB flash drive devices.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense has temporarily banned the use of thumb drives, CDs, and other removable storage devices because of the spread of the Agent.bzt virus, a variant of the SillyFDC worm, according to Wired.

We've seen this before with portable external storage devices. Floppy disks were the culprit in the early 1990s, followed by CDs. The fact that USB thumb drives are being used by so many people makes them an attractive target for virus writers.

"The bad guys are intentionally developing new flavors of malware designed to propagate through USB devices," said Gunter Ollmann, chief security strategist for IBM's ISS security division. "They are today's floppy drives."

But USB drives are even handier. Their small size makes them easy to slip into a pocket or carry on a lanyard around your neck. A common swag item in the tech industry, they also are mainstream consumer storage devices. They literally litter my desk drawers.

There are a couple of ways USB thumb drives can be used to spread viruses and other malicious software.

… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 856: Competition FTW

We discover a fun new tautology on today's show (you know, competition...for the win?), have a fun time goofing off with Brian Tong, rail against Apple's decision to include HDCP restrictions in its new MacBooks, and rejoice at the arrival of Netflix streaming on the Xbox 360 (minus a few select Sony movies, ahem). Also: India takes on Google in the Earth-spying department. Yeah, India! Go, India!

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 856

Apple’s new MacBooks have built-in copy protection measures (thanks Mager!) http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/11/18/apples_new_macbooks_have_built_in_copy_protection_measures.html http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/11/17/apple-brings-hdcp-to-a-new-aluminum-macbook-near-you… Read more

Unisys survey looks beyond cybersecurity

Internet security isn't a top concern among most average people, says a report released Tuesday by Unisys. What concerns most people is National Security, followed by financial worries.

"Whether it is the headline news that people listen to every day, or whatever is driving it, it's gone up 26 to 32 percent on this survey," said Tim Kelleher, vice president, enterprise security, Unisys. He said the results were surprising since the presidential election came down to where the candidates stood on the economy not the war.

Unisys focused its survey on four broad areas: national security, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 850: Cooley hates space

We try to get all sentimental about the demise of the Mars Phoenix lander, but Brian Cooley ruins it with his outlandish assertions about the uselessness of space. Plus, he loses his mind about the crappiness of the BlackBerry Curve. In sum, a good time is had by all.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 850

Mars Phoenix Lander completes its mission http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10092897-52.html http://www.urbanhonking.com/universe/2008/11/interview_marsphoenix.html http://gizmodo.com/5082385/this-is-my-farewell-transmission-from-mars

Flat-panel TV shipments begin their decline http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10093153-1.html

FCC OKs digital workaround for … Read more

Full suite of protection

Though not as well-known as some competitors, this antivirus program offers rock-solid protection. AVG Anti-Virus provides all the necessities, including a tool for scanning your hard drive and e-mail, as well as a real-time shield to prevent infections.

You'll find a full-blown scheduling utility for automating tasks and checking for new definitions as often as you'd like. Other perks found in this Pro version include technical support and the ability to run on multiple operating systems. Should a virus create serious system problems, AVG creates a rescue disk to scan your computer in MS-DOS mode.

The program doesn'… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 843: Nine legal uses for BitTorrent

We asked. You answered. Our listeners provided not seven, not eight, but nine real legal legitimate uses for BitTorrent. Plus Apple's getting into an old-fashioned spat with IBM. Just like 1979 all over again. Plus Rafe says stop whining about Windows 7. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 843

National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Trojan virus steals bank info http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7701227.stm http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10079593-83.html

Apple hires top IBM chip designer and blade server guru http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10079494-37.html

More on … Read more

Fake Microsoft e-mail contains Trojan virus

Along with the vulnerabilities that Microsoft patched Tuesday, the software giant's customers have a new problem to grapple with: a fake notification e-mail that looks remarkably legitimate.

Attackers are apparently taking advantage of Microsoft's Patch Tuesday to send legitimate-looking e-mails that include a Trojan virus. Trojan.Backdoor.Haxdoor allows attackers to execute files and steal information from compromised computers. The fake mailing includes a legitimate-looking PGP signature, as well as purporting to come from a real Microsoft employee.

Christopher Budd, a security program manager in the Microsoft Security Response Center, offers this perspective on the e-mails in a … Read more

Virus prompts Asus to recall Japanese Eee Box PCs

You click OK on a message while surfing the Internet and suddenly your computer is full of malicious software and viruses. That's bad. What could be worse worse, however, is when your brand new computer comes preloaded with malicious software.

Tuesday, according to ChinaTechNews.com, Asus announced a recall of it's Asus Eee Box PCs that it had sold in Japan because it was shipped with a virus.

The computers had a file called recycled.exe, residing on the D drive. Once executed, the file would copy itself to other drives, including USB drives, and install malicious software … Read more