A new virus — known variously as Tanatos and W32/Bugbear — is being circulated by e-mail and appears to be targeting computers running Windows and Internet Explorer. The e-mails come with a variety of titles, like “bad news,” “Membership Confirmation,” “Market Update Report,” and “Your Gift,” in an apparent attempt to avoid virus detection.
Security
I’ll have a double helping of Spam, please
By Tom Mighell on
Market researcher IDC predicts that the volume of e-mail will double by 2006, from 31 million to over 60 million sent every day.
PayPal hit with old AOL scam
By Tom Mighell on
Do you use PayPal? You may have recently received an e-mail asking you to re-enter your credit card information, because the company’s computer systems were having problems. Don’t do it! When I used to use AOL, I would frequently get e-mails allegedly from the company asking for my passwords and credit card numbers…
Are YOU an unwitting spammer?
By Tom Mighell on
CNET has an interesting (if somewhat heavy on tech language) article on how spammers are using the networks of unsuspecting Internet users to shuttle the unwanted e-mail.
The Politics of Spam
By Tom Mighell on
You would think that a problem as bad as spam would be deserving of some attention by legislators. Well, it has, but in the wrong direction — now you can sign up to receive spam from this year’s political candidates.
Will the “critical flaws” never end?
By Tom Mighell on
Microsoft announced two new “critical flaws” in its Java Virtual Machine, which could allow an attacker to take control of a user’s PC. Fortunately, you can fix it — just head over to the Windows Update and download the patch.
Finally, a victory against spam
By Tom Mighell on
For those of you who have been keeping up with my two-part series on fighting spam in Issue 81 and Issue 82, here’s some welcome news: Washington state scores a victory against a spammer in court.
An intro to monitoring your employee Internet use
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Security, Web and Online Culture
Admit it — you and/or your employees spend more time on eBay or sending e-mails than you probably should. This Law.com article reports on the different ways firms can monitor Internet and e-mail activity.
Do you use Outlook Express? Watch out
By Tom Mighell on
PC World is reporting that a serious flaw in Outlook Express allows viruses or other bad files to bypass filters such as firewalls and antivirus programs. Another flaw in a Microsoft product….I just can’t believe it.
While we’re on the subject
By Tom Mighell on
PC World ALSO reports that there’s a flaw in Microsoft Word that lets a hacker steal information from a user’s computer. A Word document can be created that, when e-mailed to the victim, retrieves information from the user’s computer and sends it back to the hacker when the document is e-mailed back. Apparently, though, the
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