Security

How Internet criminals will evade Vista's safeguards

Think malware will fade away with Vista? Sorry. There's about as much chance of the thriving throngs of online criminals packing up shop as there is of Microsoft doing the same.

Thunderbird update adds tools, gimmicks

When it comes to choosing an e-mail client... well, there really aren't that many popular options. Corporate e-mail users tend to have their client dictated to them by IT, which usually means Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes. For personal use, many p...

The color of information security

If information security were a colour, it most definitely would be gray. Like life in general, information security is rarely black and white. As an information security consultant, most questions asked of me and my colleagues are answered in the sam...

Rootkits: The next big enterprise threat?

Late at night, a system administrator performed a routine check of a crashed server, one of 48 systems comprising a major online infrastructure that generated about US$4 million per month in revenue. He was a bit surprised that the system had gone do...

How to mitigate zero-day threats like Windows ANI

The Windows animation bug (ANI) caused widespread concern because exploits against it became widely available before Microsoft could release a patch. But like other zero-day threats before it, there are measures companies can take to at least try to ...

Open source swarms around NAC

A pair of Harvard University IT staffers last week released a free virtual appliance that supports their open source network access controlÂ platform -- just one of many free NAC tools springing up to address security-hungry customers.

Has Microsoft kept its Vista security promise?

According to Microsoft, it's the most secure operating system the company has ever produced. Five years in the making, Windows Vista promises to lock down the desktop and usher in the era of "trustworthy computing," in which PCs are more reliable, us...

RFID threats: Don't be alarmed, but be aware

The recurring topic of RFID security flaws has been making headlines again lately. But unlike new e-mail viruses or Internet worms that demand the immediate attention of the IT department, this threat isn't a front-burner security issue...at least no...

Home office lockdown

Telecommuters are nothing new at TriNet Group, a human resources outsourcer in California, U.S. In fact, a significant part of the company's workforce operates remotely, either out of their homes or in small satellite offices, all on laptop computers...

Zero-Day Malware Attacks You Can't Block

You're no security slouch. You keep your programs up-to-date, and you have antivirus installed. You're careful about where you surf and what you install on your computer.