Tag: Malware
TDS (Traffic Distribution System) : Custom made malware
There is a common-sense rule that says: to make a substantial amount of money in a market where the conversion rate is small, you have to increase your target audience and find as many ways possible to reach potential customers. You want a mass market. Cyber-criminals seek the same thing. With increasing numbers of computer types, tablets, smart phones, etc., the pool of potential customers (or victims) is greatly expanding. (Jun 02, 2011)
Conficker worm on April 1st
It's that time of year again when most admins get more nervous about computer security. Why? April 1st is looming, and often malware is implanted on victims' machines with an internal timer set to unleash its effects on April Fool's Day. (Mar 29, 2011)
25 Most Common Mistakes in Email Security
The 25 most common mistakes in email security. (Jan 14, 2011)
The Spam Before Christmas
The Spam Before Christmas [Video]. ‘Twas the fortnight before Christmas, and all through my email / No good messages were stirring, just illicit retail; / There were Viagra and Cialis, and their load of bunk, / And watches galore – really, who buys this junk? (Dec 08, 2010)
How To Deploy a Spam Filter with Exchange
Spam, any unwanted email, has been an increasing problem for business. Not only is it a nuisance, it can often be downright dangerous for your business, carrying viruses and other malware. Various spam filters exist; however, choosing the best option for your company can get complicated. Do you use a separate server to act as a mail relay, a third party program, or integrate the filter into your firewall or your mail server? (Dec 07, 2010)
Java exploits increase as AV performance decreases
These 2 pieces of bad news could make a bad combination. The first piece of bad news is the recent upswing in attacks on Oracle’s Java software. According to a Computerworld1 article published today, the past 9 months has seen a whopping increase in attacks, from “less than half a million in the first quarter of 2010 to more than 6 million in the third quarter.” Much of the focus of these attacks has been on 3 vulnerabilities that were supposedly patched months, even years ago. (Oct 20, 2010)
Summer Email Security News: It was the ‘Summer of Spam’!
Lots of activity in our industry this summer, following the major trends we outlined previously: huge spam volumes, consolidation, virtualization and more. (Sep 15, 2010)
Spear Phishing: Is Your Boss a Whale?
Spear and whale phishing 1have been around for a while now, but recent social engineering efforts are focusing more on company executives. An example is this type of email: it certainly looks legit at first glance; even the phone number and address – right down to the floor number – are correct. But take a closer look at the URL used in the links: the real site has no relation to puzzlejs-mailing.com. (Jul 29, 2010)
My spam is different from your spam!
The type of spam you receive depends on many things, including your behavior on the net, how you use your email address, your position in a company and much more. As a software company executive I receive a very particular stream, one that is probably very different than what most people receive. Well, at least that's what our Security Operations team tells me. (Jul 22, 2010)
Sex, pills & scams
These three words reflect 90% of the spam traffic for May-June 2010. Between fake Twitter emails and classic Nigerian 419, there was a rise of new phishing attempts using .html attachment files. (Jul 15, 2010)
Organized Cybercrime
A month ago I read a fascinating book called McMafia 1by Misha Glenny 2. Glenny, a former BBC world correspondent, presents a terrifying yet eye opening look at how organized crime has progressed with Globalization over the last few decades. Glenny covers all the major illicit activities from global drug trafficking networks, to prostitution and human trafficking. One chapter in particular is dedicated to the future of organized crime and the fastest growing sector, cybercrime. (Jul 13, 2010)
Who’s responsible for Internet Security?
A couple of stories in the news today caught my attention because they have very opposite perspectives on tackling cybercrime and Internet security. First, the Australian government is thinking of making home computer users responsible for security1. They’re contemplating legislation to force users to install anti-virus programs and firewalls on their home computers before being allowed to connect to the Internet. (Jun 23, 2010)
Angelina Jolie wants to be my friend: The pitfalls of social media
I guess writing this blog brings some perks after all. I’ve been nominated to ‘represent [my] professional community’ for every possible Who’s Who list, Facebook invitations are coming in fast and furious, I’m getting offered all kinds of free product subscriptions, and, judging from my message content, I think my 15 minutes of fame have finally arrived! (Jun 09, 2010)
Interesting question from a customer: “Why should we block .EXEs?”
The majority of phishing attempts with drive-by-downloads try to entice you to download EXE files and run them locally. EXE files should always be blocked. You can open certain files on a case-by-case basis and in a very controlled fashion, but that’s the extent of it. (May 26, 2010)
Why can’t you stop this spam?
Maybe you’ve seen more spam hitting your Inbox over the past couple of months and wondering, “Why am I paying for filtering? This stuff is obviously spam – why can’t you guys stop it?” The main challenges of being in the spam filtering business are dealing with clients’ expectations on the one hand, and the sheer size of the spam/malware machine on the other. (Apr 16, 2010)
March Email Security News
A summary of links to recent articles that I have found interesting in the last few weeks. Includes my own commentary. (Apr 02, 2010)
Policy Compliance: Keep it Simple, Stupid!
Are you getting pressured to provide some sort of regulatory compliance rules to your business that will affect your network configuration, your email flow and your end users? Do you have to deal with SOX or HIPAA or GLBA, or ‘Oh Lord, not another Acronym’ regulation (we’ll call it the OLNAA) whose apparent sole purpose is to complicate your life? (Mar 24, 2010)
Catch a botnet by the tail
Catch a lizard by the tail and it will shed its tail and run free. This is a fun fact of nature (even more fun when you’re a kid) and a very clever trick to fend off a predator’s attacks. And did you know that if you try to catch a botnet, chances are the same thing will happen? (Feb 19, 2010)
“Love is in the air” ...or is it?
Ah, Valentine’s Day, the time of year when suddenly everyone is starry-eyed and declaring their love for one another. Our eagerness to please our loved ones tends to make us a little more vulnerable. And this makes us perfect prey to scammers who pounce on these vulnerabilities to spread their viruses and scams. (Feb 11, 2010)
Spam: Surveying the Surveys
Another year has passed and it seems everyone is busy publishing their year-end security reviews, survey results, and fearless predictions for the upcoming year. (Jan 20, 2010)
More Recent News
Recent Spam Survey Winners
We are extremely pleased with the tremendous response that we have received to this point from our Fight Email Spam survey. As promised we have randomly selected winners of our gift card prizes. (Jan 23, 2012)
New Year's Resolution
We spend 8 to 10 (or more) hours a day at work - more time than we spend anywhere else - and our desks/workspaces are becoming our kitchen tables. But, do you realize that our desks are covered in more bacteria... (Jan 20, 2012)
Email Usage Survey
We are currently conducting a market research on email usage at work. Thank you for filling our this very short survey. (Jan 12, 2012)
