By Munir Kotadia

Web sites offering free hosting services are increasingly being used by hackers to store and distribute malware, according to Internet security firm Websense.

The company said yesterday it had noticed an "alarming" increase in the first two weeks in July in the use of free Web space services for distributing malware such as keyloggers, Trojan horse downloaders and spyware.

Dan Hubbard, senior director of security and technology research at Websense, said more malware was found on free hosting services during the first two weeks of July than in May and June combined.

According to Hubbard, some Web sites being used by malware distributors are disguised as legitimate, while others are online for such a short period of time they are very difficult to trace.

Posted by Greg Hewitt-Long in Adware, Spyware and Trojans at 07:07

Press Release: NOD32USA.COM
ESET launches NOD32 for 64-bit systems

NOD32 offers real-time protection against malware threats for x64 editions of Windows® XP and Windows Server 2003

July 27, 2005 – NOD32USA.COM, the Loveland, Colorado based reseller of ESET NOD32, today announced the availability of NOD32 for x64 versions of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

ESET NOD32 anti-threat software is the only product that has not missed an in-the-wild virus in more than 30 tests over seven years by leading independent virus research authority Virus Bulletin Magazine [UK].

Windows x64 systems are designed to handle high-performance applications that require large amounts of memory. Though many 32-bit applications can still run on x64 systems, most antivirus solutions on the market are incompatible or offer protection only at the server level—leaving consumers and enterprises vulnerable to attacks.

"64-bit computing is increasingly being adopted by performance-hungry users, particularly as applications continue to use up more system resources and exceed the memory capacity of 32-bit systems,” Chillisoft managing director Geoff Cossey said. “As enterprises and power users migrate to this new architecture, keeping their networks protected from viruses, spyware and other threats will remain a priority. ESET Software is ahead of the game with an x64-compatible solution that functions both at the desktop and server level."

NOD32 for 64-bit systems uses ThreatSense™ technology, a sophisticated detection system based on advanced heuristics, to proactively identify previously-unknown viruses, Trojans, spyware and adware in real-time. ThreatSense is built into NOD32’s single unified scanning engine to provide comprehensive protection so users do not need to rely on additional point solutions for spyware and adware protection. Additionally, slowed network and CPU performance is not an issue for end-users and IT administrators as NOD32 consumes less than 20 MB of memory.

"Most of the major antivirus vendors don’t have comprehensive 64-bit solutions, and malware writers are constantly looking for holes in security defenses. This can either prevent advanced users from taking advantage of 64-bit technology, or leave them exposed to threats like viruses, worms and spyware," said Andrew Lee, CTO of ESET. "As 64-bit computing continues to gain momentum we want to make sure that our customers stay protected as they migrate to this new architecture."

Posted by Greg Hewitt-Long in NOD32 News at 09:22

The Spyware lab at SaferSurf http://www.safersurf.com established that there is a high security risk when installing Elite Toolbar. Tests have revealed that the Spyware not only sends the postal and email addresses of unsuspecting users to third parties but it is also involved in credit card theft. The Trojan Elite Toolbar, EliteBar for short, is a browser hijacker that inserts itself into Internet Explorer, pretending to be a search bar for a search engine. All search queries are re-routed to Searchmiracle.com even though this site provided no search results when tested. Elite also changes the start page of Internet Explorer, slows the internet connection and makes difficult or even prevents access to encrypted sites (https).

Posted by Greg Hewitt-Long in Adware, Spyware and Trojans at 07:40

By Spencer E. Ante

These days, digital attacks on PCs are coming disguised as media files or targeting corporate backup systems

Despite increasing public and corporate awareness about cybersecurity, the number of computer vulnerabilities in the second quarter of 2005 increased 10.8% compared with the first quarter, according to a new survey from the SANS Institute, which develops data and research on information security.

In all, SANS discovered 422 new vulnerabilities, up from 381 in the first quarter. The good news? Patches exist for all of the new security holes and can be found from the Web sites of the software makers named in the survey.

Posted by Greg Hewitt-Long in Virus & AntiVirus News at 07:34