Security

While Apple's safety record is pretty good--that is to say the actual number of security breaches on the platform is small--it still has some work to do in terms of its reputation for security.

In an attempt to stay one step ahead of security companies, the Gumblar web attack has jumped over to using a new domain to pull its malicious software.

A new round of Web sites hijacks is attempting to install malicious, Google-focused software on unpatched PCs, according to security company ScanSafe, further cementing the drive-by-download approach as a bad-guy tactic of choice.

Facebook was hit with yet another phishing attack yesterday as malicious e-mails went to some of the social networking site's 200 million users. The attack, which Facebook is actively fighting, asked members to leave Facebook and access outside sites that then stole user names and passwords.

A new patch from Adobe, released Tuesday, closes a critical hole in Adobe Reader and Acrobat that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of a vulnerable system.

A good password can mean the difference between identity safety and identity theft. Unfortunately, too many otherwise intelligent people rely on ridiculously weak passwords, the kind that make hackers rub their hands with glee.

Bruce Schneier, author and computer security expert, wrote a good reality-check essay on the subject of online privacy, or the lack thereof.

Panda Security has released Cloud Antivirus, a malware-protection tool that mostly resides on a network cluster instead of your PC. The free tool just installs a small client on your computer to connect online. While a self-described beta, Cloud Antivirus could be worth much more than its free price by the way it cuts your risks and administration costs.

Panda Security, the Spain-based antivirus software, today released a new free antivirus program called Panda Cloud Antivirus. The "Cloud" appellation comes from its sending data about files to Panda servers on the Internet for scans, instead of using your PC's resources.

Writing in the latest issue of Virus Bulletin (registration required), two Symantec researchers report what they believe is the first evidence of a major botnet consisting of compromised Macs. However other experts aren't so sure of the increased threat to Mac users.