Google and Microsoft added keyloggers to their browsers in an attempt to [...]]]> Long considered to be malware and a threat to privacy and security, keylogging software has been found on Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and Google Chrome. However, these keyloggers were not placed there by hackers—the companies put them there on purpose.

Google and Microsoft added keyloggers to their browsers in an attempt to improve searches for their users. Keylogging allows the browser to determine common or most likely searches based on the user’s past usage. They also store user log-ins and passwords for the user’s convenience, track activity to help determine the cause of errors, and employers use keyloggers to track employee productivity. While this is all very useful for the companies doing the tracking, it makes anti-malware protection more complicated, because the malware filters like Kaspersky cannot simply delete all keyloggers as they have up until this point.

Cyber criminals use keylogging to capture and record each keystroke you make to steal personal information like user IDs, passwords and anything else they can use to steal your identity. However, some companies are now using keylogging for more legitimate purposes.

In order to determine the best course of action regarding keyloggers, Kaspersky Labs, an industry leader in anti-malware protection, is seeking legal counsel. While they do not want to accuse legitimate companies of wrongdoing, they still want to provide the best and most comprehensive anti-malware protection on the market. If it were up to Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of the company, users would not stand for these privacy-invading programs to be present on their browsers and request the companies to remove them. “That would save us a lot of work, and we already have plenty to do,” he told Computer Weekly. Google is already reacting to the public’s aversion to keylogging by promising to keep the information anonymous, but Microsoft has made no such announcements as of yet.

What it all comes down to is this: is the convenience provided by keylogging worth compromising the security of your computer?

The vulnerability comes [...]]]> James Slater found a cross-site-scripting vulnerability on Twitter.com which Twitter claims is now fixed.  According to James, it is not fixed.  The vulnerability allows malicious JavaScript to be embedded with user tweets.   This can result in user accounts being compromised and the owner can loose control of their account.

The vulnerability comes down to Twitter’s application programming interface (API) that allows developers to interface with Twitter through their own software.  Popular software packages like Twirl, TweekDeck, and HootSuite use this API to create and read posts on behalf of the user.  The API does not filter the url of the applications using Twitter, allowing malicious JavaScript to be sent along with the URL.

This threat is almost impossible for the average user to protect against, as just seeing the tweet is enough to have your account taken over.  Twitter’s response to this vulnerability was to filter out space characters from the address box in the application, but this only makes it slightly more difficult.

Malware Attacks on websites and blogs are increasing day by day. There are many forms and shapes in which these malware programs attack your websites. Some are easily seen, while some are hidden and not [...]]]>

Malware Attacks on websites and blogs are increasing day by day. There are many forms and shapes in which these malware programs attack your websites. Some are easily seen, while some are hidden and not easily discovered. For instance, if a website is hacked, most of the time it is defaced and the entire world knows within minutes about the attack. These types of attacks are generally launched by hackers, who want to prove a point or two.

But there are some other types of attacks, which are more sophisticated and they insert a malicious script in your website code. On the face of it, you don’t see any change, but silently, your website is now one of the many similar platforms for that hacker to launch a bigger attack somewhere else. Your website is being used only as a pawn in the bigger game plan.

This situation is very risky. Soon your website will be tracked as a malicious site by various security agencies, including Google. And once this happens, and Google detects malware or phishing attacks are coming from your website they will place a warning next to your results listing, an interstitial warning page when the user clicks the result and a pop-up warning if the Google Toolbar is installed. As soon as this happens, your site is virtually killed.

How to Get Warning Alerts to Protect Your Website from Malware Attacks

Thankfully, Google comes to your rescue here. Google has recently started Safe Browsing API, which is a simple method for developers to download Google’s list of suspected phishing and malware URLs for which malware warning alerts are issued to the users of Firefox and Google Desktop. There are many applications under development at present which will make use of this API.

One such useful service is SERPGuard. It is a FREE malware alert service that regularly checks the Google Safe Browsing Blacklists. And whenever any mention of your website URLs appears there, it immediately shoots you warning signals, through emails, twitter and RSS. You just have to sign up with a FREE account with them and verify your site by uploading a small code to your webpages, and it starts monitoring your site for any malware and fishing attacks.

A really useful service in the long term.

The vulnerability comes [...]]]> James Slater found a cross-site-scripting vulnerability on Twitter.com which Twitter claims is now fixed.  According to James, it is not fixed.  The vulnerability allows malicious JavaScript to be embedded with user tweets.   This can result in user accounts being compromised and the owner can loose control of their account.

The vulnerability comes down to Twitter’s application programming interface (API) that allows developers to interface with Twitter through their own software.  Popular software packages like Twirl, TweekDeck, and HootSuite use this API to create and read posts on behalf of the user.  The API does not filter the url of the applications using Twitter, allowing malicious JavaScript to be sent along with the URL.

This threat is almost impossible for the average user to protect against, as just seeing the tweet is enough to have your account taken over.  Twitter’s response to this vulnerability was to filter out space characters from the address box in the application, but this only makes it slightly more difficult.

More information about this vulnerability can be found on David Naylor’s site.  David Naylor is a well known search marketing consultant who broke the news to Twitter.

Enter Internet parental monitoring software. It is used to detect the internet activity [...]]]> Millions of youngsters and youths are online each day. They surf internet pages, get their e-mail and discuss with their mates. Most fogeys believe this is safe, except that our youngsters are being singled out everyday by predators on the web.

Enter Internet parental monitoring software. It is used to detect the internet activity of a particular computer where it has been installed.

Internet parental monitoring software is becoming popular to stop kid predators online from getting in touch with the children. Their words are cunning and they take their time to groom their victims. Grooming is done by showering their victims with gifts, signs of love and anything more they can, to build trust and a relationship with potential victims. Once trust is built, blackmail and guilt are occasionally used to get the kid to submit to their demands.

Internet parental monitoring software is the most stable and dependable software to track and monitor internet and computer activities of your child. With computer monitoring software, you can secretly monitor your kids computer system over a network and view LIVE Desktop Activities.

Be aware that these predators can often times mask their age and state that they’re round the same age as your youngster. They may stalk the web sites that most youngsters and kids frequently visit. Hiding behind their PC screen, waiting patiently and then attacking their prey, our kids. How are you able to tell if your youngster is at risk? Your kid may switch off the PC suddenly when you enter the room. Your kid could be receiving gifts from others that you don’t know. They may become more secretive about what they are doing online and sometimes spend more than an hour a day on the web.

As a parent, what are you able to do? One of the finest paths to keep your kid safe online is to form open dialogue with your youngster and to set clear rules re PC and Net use. You’ll also consider exploiting Web monitoring tools like an Internet parental monitoring software to keep track of your kid’s activity. Get a tool that can combine both parental monitoring tools and tools to interpret the litany of instant message acronyms