security

Newly released files show a secret National Security Agency program is targeting the computerized systems that control utilities to discover security vulnerabilities, which can be used to defend the United States or disrupt the infrastructure of other nations.

The NSA's so-called Perfect Citizen program conducts "vulnerability exploration and research" against the computerized controllers that control "large-scale" utilities including power grids and natural gas pipelines, the documents show. The program is scheduled to continue through at least September 2014.

The Perfect Citizen files obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center and provided to CNET shed more … Read more

The Internet is slowly changing, and security experts say that today's security issues will continue to be major players in driving that change. Here are four trends that dominated headlines in 2012, and will continue to play a major role in 2013.

The Internet as governmental tool The collective realization by governments around the world that the Internet is an excellent network for conducting surveillance, monitoring, espionage, and war, says Finnish computer security firm F-Secure's Chief Technical Officer Mikko Hypponen, may not come to full fruition in 2013. But the foundation for that change is already underway.

"… Read more

Review: The Finnish security firm F-Secure gains a large percentage of its business from corporate accounts and platform operators, but that doesn't mean that it treats its consumer security suites as a ginger-haired child of indeterminate parentage and poor temperament. F-Secure 2013 focuses on keeping its security ahead of the curve, along with some ease-of-use improvements. However, as other suites emphasize their engine improvements along with an ever-expanding feature set, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2013 ($39.99) and F-Secure Internet Security 2013 ($59.99) remain steadfastly lean while still providing top-rated security.

Installation Unlike last year, where F-Secure 2012 had a … Read more

I am currently on a psychiatrist-imposed company retreat in Miami.

I have been told not to engage strangers, nor those from or to whom I would like to become either estranged or engaged.

Sitting quietly at my beloved News Cafe this morning (yes, where Gianni Versace had his last coffee), I detected an increase in traffic but a block away.

There was the slamming of truck doors. There was a flurry of fetching TV presenters, pressing down their beige trousers by hand.

Not being an investigative reporter, I sidled over and asked a burly cameraman what was going on.

"It's John McAfee," he replied. "He's in there." … Read more

Microsoft Security Essentials may not have done well in recent independent tests, but it's now the global leader in security suite market share for the first time since it debuted in 2009, says Opswat's latest study.

Opswat gauges usage by looking at the software installed on computers running their AppRemover program. The data came from more than 150,000 computers.

When asked about the differences between Opswat's numbers and research and analysis firm NPD, Opswat marketing manager Elisse Lockhart wrote in an e-mail, "Our data looks at all applications installed on machines and aggregates various versions … Read more

A Nokia engineer has posted an explanation on how to hack Windows 8 games.

Justin Angel, who currently works on Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 implementation in Nokia Lumia devices, recently posted the step-by-step guide on his blog, where he explained that the "use of innate Windows 8 security attack vectors" can allow a person with admittedly advanced knowledge to "compromise Windows 8 games revenue stream."

The issue is potentially major (and worrisome) for developers who have delivered titles to Microsoft's Windows Store. As Angel points out, games account for "51 percent … Read more

Your really, really strong password just became a little bit easier to break.

Jeremi Gosney, founder and CEO of Stricture Consulting Group, a company that handles password-cracking, has unveiled a computer cluster boasting 25 AMD Radeon graphics cards. The cluster's horsepower allows it to make 350 billion password guesses per second against the NT Lan Manager (NTLM) security protocol Microsoft has used in Windows Server since 2003.

Ars Technica was first to report on the cluster.

Speaking to Ars in an e-mailed statement, Gosney said that his company's technology "can attack hashes approximately four times faster" … Read more

When my doorbell goes ding dong and the dogs go crazy, the last thing I want to do (aside from shushing my beasts) is actually talk to the person at the door who I probably didn't even want to talk to in the first place. Unless it's the pizza guy.

Fortunately, a Wi-Fi-enabled doorbell called DoorBot could make the mystery of a random household visitor a thing of the past. The $169 high-tech door device features a built-in camera (with infrared for nighttime support) that captures live video of the person who presses the button. From there, a notification pops up on the owner's device that gives the option to display the video feed on the app (works with iOS and Android tablets and smartphones).… Read more

The bottom line: Bitdefender Total Security 2013 remains one of the best high-end security suites around. This update gives you a fully isolated Web browser for secure financial transactions.

Review: Bitdefender Total Security 2013 presents a convincing alternative to its better-known competitors. It's a strong program, with all the major tools that users expect, and some additional useful tricks in its arsenal. When it comes to efficacy, Bitdefender isn't the best in every area, but it's definitely competitive.

Editors' note: Portions of this review are based on CNET's review of Bitdefender Total Security 2012.

Installation Bitdefender … Read more