security

President Barack Obama had a digital agenda in his call to new Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulating him on his new position, according to a new report.

According to The New York Times, Obama and his Chinese counterpart spoke quite a bit about cyberattacks and their impact on each other's nations. The Times, which obtained the information from White House officials, didn't specifically say what was said during the conversation. But the fact that the presidents are having an open discussion on cyberattacks indicates just how far the issue has gone.

For years now, both China and the … Read more

Funny thing about Symantec's security programs: Lots of people still hate them. Like, really hate them. I guess the bloated, sluggish, more-harm-than-good versions of yesteryear were enough to turn some users off Symantec forever, even though the products have improved dramatically in the past several years.

Indeed, several of the company's Norton tools are perennial award-winners, and have been since the early days of Windows 7. And yet I know that at least some readers will see this deal and write, "Norton AntiVirus? No way, never again."

More on that in a bit. For now, Newegg … Read more

President Barack Obama met with 13 chief executives yesterday to dig deeper into cybersecurity.

According to The New York Times, which first reported on the meeting, the discussion took place in the White House Situation Room and was a "two-way" exchange of information between the president and the chief executives.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, along with chief executives at Exxon Mobil, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase, were all in attendance, according to the Times.

Over the last several weeks, a slew of companies has been hit with cyberattacks. Online banking sites have also been targeted. … Read more

Nomura Securities analyst Rick Sherlund, one of the longest tenured and most respected Microsoft watchers on Wall Street, believes Windows 8 has failed to slow the post-PC era march, where consumers opt for smartphones and tablets ahead of personal computers.

"The tide continues to go out on PC sales as consumers and emerging market users prefer tablets and smartphones to Windows based PCs," Sherlund wrote in a research note sent to investors this morning. "Windows 8 has failed to ebb the receding tide."

Microsoft investors had hoped that Windows 8, which launched last October, would give … Read more

A mobile device can contain a significant amount of personal data such as contacts, banking information, photos, videos, important documents, and more. With Android devices becoming more prevalent, the need for security software is even greater. Avira Free Android Security is a feature-filled application that assists users in securing their devices. While this is not an antivirus or malware protection application, it does a great job protecting devices against theft.

The download and installation of Avira Free Android Security go quickly and easily. Some advanced settings are required for most of the features, but the application does a good job … Read more

I feel like I might be the only person in the world who loves the poor Chromebook Pixel. It's just so misunderstood, with its ridiculously high price, its tiny 32GB hard drive, and its odd 3:2 screen resolution. But the design is just so gorgeous (drink), and the touch screen is so exciting, and the Chrome OS is so simple and Web-based! Perhaps you'll fall in love like I did ... or be wildly skeptical like Jeff Cannata. Check out this week's Unboxing, and find out.

On the other hand, Jeff is delighted by the idea of … Read more

Samsung plans to release a security patch for a newly discovered lock screen hack, reports Lookout Mobile Security. According to the security firm, however, the timeframe for the official software repair is vague, expected to hit "shortly." … Read more

Android usually gets smacked around for playing host to mobile malware, but iOS isn't totally immune, according to researchers at Skycure Security.

iOS profiles, aka mobileconfig files, are used by mobile carriers to configure key settings for e-mail, Wi-Fi, and other features. But these files could be abused by attackers to sneak past Apple's normally tight security and and hijack a mobile device, the security firm revealed in a blog post today.

The process would be similar to that of a typical malware infection.

An attacker might tempt users to visit a malicious Web site by promising something … Read more

Gawker's headline tells the story: Either Colin Powell's official Facebook page got hacked or the former U.S. Secretary of State has had a drastic change of heart about the president he served.

Powell's Facebook page was pulled down today after it wound up hosting a series of sometimes scatological references to George W. Bush, according to Gawker which saved some of the posts.

This is just the latest in a spate of high-profile hacks launched against personal and private accounts. Sometimes the object has been public embarrassment, other times an effort to insert malware. In mid-February, … Read more