rogue

For most computer users, the idea of having malware or adware creeping onto your machine has become an accepted fate that comes with being online. More-tech-savvy users can manage to stay clean for a while but, like the flu, everybody gets it eventually. Whether it was through a questionable e-mail sent by a friend or from a moment of weakness when you clicked on that video link promising playful kittens, suddenly you find your beloved computer starting to behave strangely. It might be a quick process; it might not happen right away, but you will know right away something is … Read more

Do you know what time it is? That's right, it's that time of the week known as the Crave giveaway, and this week's prize just happens to offer a pretty cool way of keeping pace.

Up for grabs is the Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch, a modern take on the classic pocket watch. Made by Tokyoflash, it features an always-on touch display, as well as an LED backlight, and comes with a spring-hinged mineral crystal lens cover.

Though it looks like you need to understand some futuristic language to tell time, it's actually quite simple. The outside ring features 12 blocks that represent the hour, while the minutes are marked by the 60 smaller dots just inside the ring. There's even a second set of rings, in case you want to keep track of a different time zone, and you can rotate through the watch's various functions (date, alarm, and so forth) using the touch display.

Normally, the Tokyoflash Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch would cost you $169, but you have a chance to get this geeky accessory for free. There are some rules, though, so please take the time to read them carefully. There will be a test. … Read more

Tokyoflash is well-known for producing some futuristic watches, and the company has done it again.

The Kisai Rogue Touch Pocket Watch is a modern take on the classic pocket watch and features a hybrid LCD/LED interface. The always-on LCD allows you to read the watch at a glance, while an LED backlight can provide extra illumination when needed. A touch display also lets you to change the modes (e.g., time, date, alarm, and so forth) and comes with a spring-hinged mineral crystal lens cover. … Read more

The federal organization overseeing the administration of funds from the 2008 bailout has cracked down on alleged scams that used Bing and Yahoo to lure vulnerable homeowners with ads for bogus mortgage modification deals.

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or SIGTARP, last week shut down 85 alleged online mortgage scams that advertised with Google and targeted struggling homeowners.

In the deal announced today (PDF), Microsoft, which owns Bing and powers ads that run in the United States on Yahoo, blocked all future advertising associated with the 125 scams identified by SIGTARP.

In … Read more

Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page condoned ads from rogue online Canadian pharmacies, says a Justice Department official who led the investigation into the case and talked to The Wall Street Journal about it.

Earlier this week Google agreed to pay $500 million to settle the dispute with the agency over the sale of the advertising through Google's AdWords program to foreign pharmacies targeting ads at U.S. consumers. Now, Peter Neronha, the U.S. attorney for Rhode Island, tells The Wall Street Journal that it appears Page may have been aware of the sales for several years.

"… Read more

A new version of rogue antivirus malware that targets the Macintosh operating system does not need victims to type in their administrator passwords to install and infect the machine, a security company said today.

The latest version of the malware has been overhauled to look like a native Mac OS X application and is using the application name MacGuard, according to an Intego blog post. But particularly concerning is the fact that unlike previous versions, which were dubbed Mac Defender, MacProtector, and MacSecurity, MacGuard installs itself without prompting for the admin password.

"If Safari's 'Open safe files after … Read more

A new malware infection has apparently been spreading relatively rapidly among Mac users, and it's unclear both how pervasive the infection is and whether Apple is addressing the problem. What is known, however, is how to get rid of it.

What is it? Most often called MacDefender, but also known as MacProtector and MacSecurity, this bit of malware is a socially engineered threat of a type that's more familiar to Windows users. It often starts with a Web advertisement that suckers you into downloading a rogue antivirus program, which purports to protect you. In fact, once installed it … Read more

We've all heard about fake antivirus programs, also known as scareware. These programs falsely claim that your computer is infected with malware and prompt you to buy a product that will do nothing for you, except put your credit card number into the hands of criminals.

Well now there are fake disk defraggers that masquerade as applications that fix disk errors on a computer. In a post today the GFI Labs (formerly Sunbelt Software) blog Dubbed the programs FakeAV-Defrag rogues and said they had names like HDDDiagnostic, HDDRepair, HDDRescue, and HDDPlus.

It would appear that the scammers are trying … Read more

Let's put this matter to rest right now: Any Facebook application that offers to reveal who is viewing your profile is a scam. Period.

Security research firm Sophos posted a memo about a rogue app that was spread on Facebook recently with messages like "OMG ... I can't believe this actually works! Now you really can see who viewed your profile!"

The app is bogus. I've asked a Facebook representative about this before, and he told me that apps on the site do not have the ability to track who is viewing profiles.

In this particular … Read more