Recently a friend of mine sent me a photo of the image on his computer screen. It was a Windows firewall warning message that his computer had been infected with malware. He said that when he tried to re-boot the computer it got into an endless loop and he could not get it to do anything. He finally took it to the computer repair shop, and they had to reload a new system. Thankfully he had a complete, clean, backup of all his files, so he didn’t lose anything. I asked what the repair folks said the problem was, and he indicated that they didn’t tell him anything specific, only that he “probably had bad malware.” (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘malware’
Stay Alert for Stegoloader and Rombertik Malware Threats
Friday, July 17th, 2015Hey, Developers! Save Privacy in the IoT Explosion
Thursday, July 2nd, 2015I’ve been concerned with and writing about the information security and privacy risks involved with the data created, transmitted and processed by smart devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) for several years since they first started emerging (e.g., here) and will likely be writing on it even more in the coming months and years. According to a new IDC research report, the IoT market will grow from $655.8 billion in 2014 to $1.7 trillion in 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.9%. Will privacy die in this IoT explosion? If IoT developers and manufacturers take action now, I’m optimistic that they can save privacy in the IoT explosion. (more…)
How to Protect Against Virulent Ransomware
Sunday, January 4th, 2015In early December, there were several reports about yet another type of ransomware, VirRansom, the next evolution of ransomware. It combines the ransomware feature of making data unavailable and locking up your computer until you pay the crooks a ransom with the feature of a virus, which allows it to spread to others. This basically means that not only will the ransomware take your computer hostage, it could also take all the other computers you communicate with hostage.
Some key points about VirRansom: (more…)
You Need to Know about Ransomware
Monday, November 24th, 2014When was the last time you made a backup of all your data? How often do you make incremental backups? Do you keep these backups on a separate storage device and disconnected (or firewalled away from) the rest of your network?
“Say, why do you ask?”
The primary reason I’m asking right now is because ransomware is growing rapidly in occurrences; over 700% from last year. Three of the best ways you can help defend against it is by: (more…)
Promoting Science and Technology
Thursday, February 28th, 2008I participate in the LinkedIn community, and I was intrigued this morning to find a question posted by Bill Gates (yes Microsoft Bill)!
“How can we do more to encourage young people to pursue careers in science and technology?”
Are You Taking The Panda Security Challenge?
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008I was very intrigued to get an email yesterday from a security software vendor announcing a contest daring information security practitioners to find a malware-free network and they’ll give you $10,000.
Here’s the text of the message:
“Over 1 Million Computer Victims” Can Lead To Some Interesting, Awareness-Raising, Discussions
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007Here’s a great conversation starter for a nice chat with your business leaders, “The FBI has found over 1 million computers are controlled by criminal botnets.”
Be prepared to answer some follow-up questions from your business leaders after telling them this, such as…
RINBOT/DELBOT Virus Running Rampant In the Wild: Exploits Anti-Virus Software Vulnerabilities Allowing Access to Business Networks
Thursday, March 1st, 2007Data Ransom Story: Crooks Targeting Small Businesses and Individuals
Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Yesterday USA Today ran a report, “Cybercrooks hold PC data captive.”
This is nothing new, I blogged about this type of ransom scheme earlier this year. The crooks are getting more creative.
Data Ransom Story: Crooks Targeting Small Businesses and Individuals
Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Yesterday USA Today ran a report, “Cybercrooks hold PC data captive.”
This is nothing new, I blogged about this type of ransom scheme earlier this year. The crooks are getting more creative.
