security

How to prevent phone and tablet theft

If you're under the age of 25, there's almost an even chance you have lost your cell phone or had it stolen at least once. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted last April, 45 percent of cell phone users between the ages of 18 and 24 have had a phone lost or stolen.

The survey also found that 3 out of 10 cell phone users between the ages of 35 and 54 have misplaced their device or had it stolen, as Kashmir Hill reports on Forbes.com.

There's nothing new about cell phones being popular … Read more

Private browsing bug fixed in Firefox 15.0.1

Browser maker Mozilla has patched a bug in the latest major version of Firefox that could have exposed the websites of those using the "Private Browsing" mode.

"Private Browsing," a feature implemented in most modern browsers, allows users to browse the Web without leaving any trace of the websites visited on the user's computer.

But shortly after the latest Firefox release was dished out to end-users, a bug report was filed to claim that any site visited while in the privacy-conscious mode "could be found through manual browser cache inspection," according to Mozilla's bug-reporting site Bugzilla.… Read more

AVG brings its A-game to Windows 8

Review: AVG's updates for 2013 look to the future while struggling to overcome the problems of the past. There's a new interface optimized for Windows 8 that really does make the suite easier to use, and the suite once again tackles its lengthy installation procedure. However, one of the best new features in AVG was actually introduced as a midyear update during 2012.

Installation We found that the program can go from completed download to ready to use in about 5 minutes.

AVG's touted its five-screen installation for several years now. While it's true that the … Read more

Phishing attacks via text spiked this week -- researcher

A surge in SMS phishing attacks this week took security experts by surprise and tricked victims into providing credit card and other sensitive information to scammers, a researcher said today.

The phishing onslaught, which targeted customers of the major cellular carriers in the U.S., started on Tuesday, said Mary Landesman, senior security researcher at security provider Cloudmark.

The number of SMS-based phishing attempts observed by security firm Cloudmark based on reports from consumers rose more than 900 percent during the first week of September from what would be expected over that period in a normal month, she said in … Read more

AVG goes all-in with Windows 8

Microsoft is forcing everybody to rethink the operating system that everybody loves to hate with Windows 8, and that includes security suite makers. Freeware faves AVG leap into the future today with a touch-friendly interface, a zippy installation, and impressively fast scans.

The upgrades are available at no cost as AVG Anti-Virus Free 2013 (download), or as a paid update to AVG Anti-Virus 2013 (download) and AVG Internet Security 2013 (download), exclusively from Download.com today.

Security vendor claims about being faster, or better, or able to protect your computer while doing your dishes, are perennial boasts. At least in … Read more

Cybercrime costs U.S. consumers $20.7 billion

U.S. consumers lost $20.7 billion to cybercrime over the past 12 months, with 71 million Americans falling victim to online perps, according to new research.

Meanwhile, worldwide losses resulting from cybercrime including malware attacks and phishing hit $110 billion between July 2011 and the end of July 2012, a report by security company Symantec (PDF) has found.

On average, each victim experienced $197 in direct financial loss. In the United States, the average loss was $290.

According to the report, an estimated 556 million adults across the world had first-hand experience of cybercrime over the period -- more … Read more

As Windows goes touch, Norton goes social

Symantec's annual Norton security suite delivers an interface optimized for Windows 8, but its new features address the mobile and social implications of the era arriving with the new operating system at the end of October.

The new features in Norton Anti-Virus 2013 (download), Norton Internet Security 2013 (download), and Norton 360 2013 (download), aim squarely to cut down on social engineering threats like scams and phishing attacks.

Windows 8 is already gaining a reputation as the safest version of Windows to date, but this doesn't surprise Gerry Egan, Norton's senior product manager. "Each time Microsoft … Read more

Gawker writer dons pink tutu in response to Anonymous demand

Let's hope this won't become a regular demand before sources agree to speak with writers, but it did make for quite the sight as the tech world returned from the long Labor Day weekend: Gawker's Adrian Chen published a picture of himself today resplendent in a a pink tutu with a shoe on his head after the shadowy group declared in a note left on the hacker document-sharing site Pastebin the following:

to journalists: no more interviews to anyone till Adrian Chen get featured in the front page of Gawker, a whole day, with a huge picture … Read more

How the pros thwart computer spies with James Bond tricks

H.D. Moore wasn't taking chances.

During the spring of 2009, the information specialist traveled to Shanghai on a work trip. For a computer, though, he carried only a stripped down Netbook that he modified using a trick even James Bond would have admired. He sawed off the end of one of the laptop case screws and mashed a small bit of a crushed Altoids mint into the hole before putting the screw back in. After leaving it in his hotel room for a few hours, he came back to find that the powder had disappeared. Something had caused … Read more

Panda 2013 reaches out, touches its Windows 8 future

Windows 8 support and a new interface for touch screens arrive in Panda's 2013 security suites, released today.

Following the mid-summer update to Panda Cloud Antivirus, Panda's 2013 line-up of Panda Antivirus Pro 2013 (download), Panda Internet Security 2013 (download), and Panda Global Protection 2013 (download) offers a competitive range of security features. But if you're not already a Panda fan, it's hard to see what's in this year's release that would convince you to jump.

There are some solid improvements, to be sure. As mentioned, the new landing screen favors large, mobile-style buttons, … Read more