antivirus

A new study suggests Microsoft Defender's effectiveness varies dramatically on the setting. It's one of the best for online-based threats, but among the worst performers for offline-based threats. The study is from AV Comparatives, which runs ... regular tests on more than a dozen leading cyber security tools. (Source: av-comparatives.org ) The results for Microsoft Defender are particular noteworthy for two reasons. First, it's the default, built-in tool for modern versions of Windows, meaning hundreds of millions of people use it. Second, it's often argued that Defender does a good enough job ... (view more)

Microsoft is releasing a major security update to Windows 11 that could theoretically block malicious applications completely. It's such a fundamental change in the operating system that it will require a reset and clean installation of Windows. At ... the moment, most of the built-in security on Windows uses two main approaches. One is to scan any files or links the user wants to open or download, then alerts the user if they match any know threats. This is referred to as file and link scanning. The other is to scan files on the hard drive to look for anything suspicious. This is usually done in ... (view more)

Chrome and Edge are to get a fix for a problem with saving bookmarks and other files. The glitch is the result of an incompatibility with some anti-virus software. The problem involved security tools which were set to scan files on a computer in ... real-time. Often this involves "freezing" a file immediately as it's written to disk so the security software can check for threats and neutralize them before they have an effect. Unfortunately the way this works means it didn't always go smoothly with Chrome, resulting in the browser "freezing", then simply giving up on saving the file. This caused ... (view more)

A security company says it found a simple way to turn antivirus software into a weapon for attackers. Most major manufacturers have now fixed the problem, but it's a reminder to keep such software updated. The discovery by Rack911 Labs effectively ... meant that a hacker could force the antivirus software to delete files on a computer. That would mean the hacker would need to have gained access to a computer first - whether internally on a network, or remotely using malware. The exploit is based on one of the most fundamental actions of any antivirus software: they scan files, check if they are a ... (view more)

Windows 10's built-in security tool Windows Defender has stopped working properly for some users. There's a workaround for those who want added peace of mind. Exactly what's causing the problem isn't yet clear, but some users are finding both manual ... and automatic scans produce messages such as: "Items skipped during scan: The Windows Defender Antivirus scan skipped an item due to exclusion or network scanning settings." In other cases, the error message reports that the entire scan was skipped. The message isn't proving particularly helpful as it's not clear what items are actually being ... (view more)

Google is to use outside help to scan apps before they go into the Google Play store. It says the move is needed to cope with the continuing increase in the number of rogue Android apps. Just two weeks ago, 21 Android apps were reported to be rogue ... ; in early September, 24 apps were found to be rogue . The new "App Defense Alliance" involves Google working with three security companies, namely: ESET, Lookout and Zimperium. They all specialize in mobile security with a particular emphasis not just on spotting individual rogue apps, but on figuring out common characteristics and clues ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bill H. writes: " Dear Dennis, I was on Amazon.com and suddenly a warning message appeared, stating that my PC was infected with a virus and to call 1-866-666-1917 to fix the problem. There was no way to close the window. I called ... the number and spoke to a fellow at Smart PC Experts ( smartpcexperts.com ), who had a very thick Indian accent . They convinced me that my PC was infected with the Zeus Trojan and it needed to be fixed. I allowed them remote access to my machine and they installed some software. After that, they demanded $499 as payment for their services. I was ... (view more)

PC and laptop manufacturer ASUS unwittingly installed malware on its customers' laptops, according to a cyber security company. The malware went out to around a million people, yet appears to have been a highly targeted attack. The claims come from ... Kaspersky Lab, with rival firm Symantec confirming it has found similar evidence of the attack. At the time of writing, ASUS has yet to comment publicly on the claims. (Source: kaspersky.com ) According to Kaspersky Lab, the hackers took advantage of ASUS Live Update Utility. That's a tool by which ASUS automatically updates software on laptops, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Abdul M. writes: " Dear Dennis, A few weeks ago my computer gave me a warning message that I was infected with virus and that I needed to call 1 800 208 0798 to fix the problem. The man I spoke to had an Indian accent and said he ... was from Microsoft. He then connected to my computer and removed the virus, then demanded $199 payment which I paid. He then forwarded me to another security specialist, who examined my system and said that my firewall was broken and it would cost another $350 to fix it. If I didn't pay it, he said hackers would attack my computer . At this point I ... (view more)

Staff of a local government in Alaska have switched to typewriters after a ransomware attack crippled their computer network. Officials are currently rebuilding the system from scratch. The attack hit Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which covers the ... region just north of Anchorage. The problems began on July 24, though officials believe the malware may have been on the system for several weeks before activating. IT staff spotted the ransomware attack thanks to antivirus software , but had to start manually removing some of the more sophisticated elements. They also reset all passwords as a security ... (view more)