Monday 6/22/09

DNSSEC Showing More Signs Of Progress
Jun 22,2009
The Domain Name System (DNS) security protocol is finally making inroads on the Internet infrastructure front, but big hurdles remain for widespread, smooth adoption

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Relaunched Google Search Service Fingers Malware-Spreading Advertisers
Jun 19,2009
'Anti-Malvertising' lets Website owners perform background checks on potential online advertisers

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Oracle Users Struggle With Patch ManagementJun 18,2009 Despite new tools that speed deployment, many administrators are still far behind

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Microsoft To Launch Free Antivirus Product Next Week
Jun 18,2009
Public beta of the much-anticipated 'Morro' tool debuts June 23, replacing OneCare Live for consumers

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Hactivist DDoS Attacks In Iran Trigger Worries Of Wider Internet Crackdown
Jun 17,2009
Experts warn that protest distributed denial-of-service attacks could backfire

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New Injection Attack Compromises More Than 40,000 Websites
Jun 17,2009
'Nineball' exploit is distinct from Gumblar, Beladen, researchers say

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Proxy servers pressed into action to keep Web access in Iran An unknown number of proxy servers set up in recent days are being used to help Iranians to maintain access to unfiltered Web content amid a crackdown over protests in the country. Read more...

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MasterCard beefs up security requirements
Computerworld - In a move that is unlikely to sit well with many merchants, MasterCard has quietly changed a key security requirement for all businesses handling between 1 million and 6 million card transactions annually.

Staring Dec 31, 2010 companies that fall into this category, called Level 2, will be required to undergo an onsite review of their security controls by a MasterCard approved third-party assessor.

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AppLocker: Like Software Restriction Policies, Improved Analysis: Windows 7 AppLocker may not be "SRP on steroids," but it offers some noticeable improvements.

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IPhone 3.0 Update Fixes 46 Security Flaws Apple says the iPhone 3.0 software download patches 46 security holes.

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How to Avoid a Nightmarish Data Breach Investigation
It's easy to turn a data breach investigation into a nightmare. CSO Senior Editor Bill Brenner and digital forensics investigator Rob Fitzgerald talk about how to avoid such a scenario (podcast).
Read more

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Seven Deadly Sins of Home Office Security
Whether your home office is for the occasional WAH or you're running a business from the house, are you guilty of one of these security oversights?
Read more

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Western Corporations Helped Censor Iranian Internet
online.wsj.com — The Iranian regime has developed, with the assistance of European telecommunications companies, one of the world's most sophisticated mechanisms for controlling and censoring the Internet, allowing it to examine the content of individual online communications on a massive scale.More…

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Verizon boosts FiOS speeds, but talks mostly about uploads
June 22, 8:57 p.m. UTC - by Nate Anderson Posted in: Law & Disorder
Download speeds have long been the key metric that ISPs have used to hawk their wares, often burying abysmal upload speeds in the fine print. But Verizon has now more than doubled upload speeds across its FiOS fiber-optic connections and is now using upload speeds as a talking point in its battle with cable.
Read more

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Comcast to provide wholesale IPv6 service
June 22, 1:15 p.m. UTC - by Iljitsch van Beijnum Posted in: Uptime
Cable operator Comcast announced that it will provide IPv6 service to its wholesale customers, but nobody's ready for IPv6 on consumer broadband just yet.
Read more

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Web Fraud 2.0: Franchising Cyber Crime

For the most part, cyber gangs that create malicious software and spread spam operate as shadowy, exclusive organizations that toil in secrecy, usually in Eastern Europe. But with just a few clicks, anyone can jump into business with even the most notorious of these organizations by opening up the equivalent of a franchise operation.

Some of the most active of these franchises help distribute malicious software through so-called pay-per-install programs, which pay tiny commissions to the franchise operators, or so-called affiliates, each time a supplied program is installed on an unsuspecting victim's PC.

Permalink

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Best Buy memo details Microsoft Win 7 upgrade program, upgrade pricing
Customers who buy Vista PCs between June 26 and the Windows 7 launch day (October 22) will get a free upgrade copy of Windows 7, according to the memo.

But wait: There’s more. Starting June 26 there also will be a presell program kicking off at Best Buy, via which Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade copies can be ordered for $49.95 and Windows 7 Professional Upgrade copies for $99.99. (Note: These are upgrade license prices, not the price for a brand-new retail version of Windows 7. Microsoft still hasn’t released officially any Windows 7 price lists. )

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IRS asks to drop work cellphone personal usage tax
Larry Dignan: The IRS asked Congress to repeal a 20-year-old law designed to tax personal use on an employer provided cellphone as a fringe benefit.

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Fake Microsoft "critical update" spam propagating trojan
Angela Moscaritolo June 22, 2009
A new outbreak of spam claims to be a critical update for Microsoft Outlook, but the message really aims to infect users with the information-stealing trojan ZBot, security firm Trend Micro warned Monday.

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