Information Protection and Security

 Warning: what appears to be a critical update from Microsoft could be a critical attack designed to steal your confidential data. This new phishing threat arrives as an email that looks every bit like a Microsoft security fix. Even all of the links are legitimate—except for one. An engineer at TrendLabs explains, "The URL where the 'critical update' may be downloaded looks legitimate, but hovering over the hyperlink... reveals a totally different destination." The URL leads to the download of a Trojan
 

Social networking sites have morphed into a mainstream medium for kids and adults. These sites encourage and enable people to exchange information about themselves, share pictures and videos, and use blogs and messaging to communicate with friends and sometimes even the world-at-large. 
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Computer users often dismiss Internet security best practices because they find them inconvenient, or because they think the rules don't apply to them. Many cling to the misguided belief that because they don't bank or shop online, that bad guys won't target them. 
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New research from the Anti-Phishing Working Group shows how phishers are better covering their tracks -- and what to do when phishers compromise your Website.

n this episode of "When Malware Writers Attack," senior technology consultant Graham Cluley blogged that he received a message saying he was being followed on Twitter by someone called "3XNJTVJG0SYIKDH." This person was already following nearly 400 people on Twitter, and had only posted one update: "check this guy out [followed by a tinyurl address]"

Twitter users who thought friends were directing them to a "funny blog" Thursday ended up experiencing something completely different: a phishing scam.

 A fake Twitter site at tvviter.com (note the two 'v' instead of 'w' and 'ter' instead of 'tter') is trying to steal your Twitter logon credentials. Twitter accounts are being used to lure users to the site. 
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For the fourth time in two weeks social networking powerhouse Facebook is the target of a phishing scam designed to fool Facebook users into visiting unsafe Web pages.
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Mass compromise of merchant networks and card processors is viewed as the main cause of payment-card fraud, according to a survey of 113 financial services firms, which was published Tuesday.
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