Switched http://www.switched.com Switched http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif Switched http://www.switched.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Windows Vista Update Disables Anti-Virus Programs]]>http://www.switched.com/2008/02/22/windows-vista-update-disables-anti-virus-programs/http://www.switched.com/2008/02/22/windows-vista-update-disables-anti-virus-programs/http://www.switched.com/2008/02/22/windows-vista-update-disables-anti-virus-programs/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Vista Update Stops Some Programs from Working Properly
Microsoft is preparing to release the first major update to Vista, Service Pack 1 (SP1), which is supposed to clear out some of the major issues users have had with Vista, including speed and compatibility problems. Unfortunately for those eagerly awating SP1, it seems that Microsoft is creating just as many problems as it's solving.

Microsoft released an admittedly incomplete list of applications that will either not work properly or not work at all with SP1:
  • BitDefender AV
  • Fujitsu Shock Sensor
  • Jiangmin KV Antivirus 10
  • Jiangmin KV Antivirus 2008
  • Trend Micro Internet Security
  • Zone Alarm Security Suite
  • Iron Speed Designer
  • Xheo Licensing
  • Free Allegiance
  • NYT Reader
  • Rising Personal Firewall
  • Novell ZCM Agent
Ironically, most of the applications that will lose functionality or not work at all with Vista SP1 are security applications -- namely firewalls and anti-virus programs. One of the major complaints against Microsoft Windows is its relative insecurity when compared to Mac OS X and the Linux operating systems, so losing access to security programs will be a major drawback for most users.

From Beta News

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SwitchedWindows Vista Update Disables Anti-Virus Programs originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>microsoftservice pack 1ServicePack1vistavista sp1VistaSp1windowsFri, 22 Feb 2008 16:11:00 EST<![CDATA["Friendly" Computer Viruses That Are Good For Your Computer]]>http://www.switched.com/2008/02/15/friendly-computer-viruses-that-are-good-for-your-computer/http://www.switched.com/2008/02/15/friendly-computer-viruses-that-are-good-for-your-computer/http://www.switched.com/2008/02/15/friendly-computer-viruses-that-are-good-for-your-computer/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Friendly Viruses Set to Race Malicious Ones

Everyone likes to race, whether it's cars or skateboards or just people on two feet. Researchers at Microsoft are looking to apply this notion of competition to the world of viruses, with the hope of creating friendly worms to compete against malicious ones.

Similar to the current research that use genetically-modified viruses to deliver medication or fight cancer, the "good" computer viruses that Microsoft is working on would take advantage of a given security loophole in computer systems. These viruses would spread themselves out like self-replicating worms by finding computers capable of being infected, then installing themselves onto those compuers and patching any flaws or security holes.

In theory, these angel viruses would make the computer safe from any virus that would attempt to exploit the same loophole -- assuming they get to the exposed computers faster than the real viruses do.

This is all theory for now, though, so in the mean time, keep that virus-scanner updated.

From slashdot and New Scientist Tech

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Switched"Friendly" Computer Viruses That Are Good For Your Computer originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>MicrosoftsecurityVirusesWormsFri, 15 Feb 2008 11:06:00 EST<![CDATA[Valentine's Day "Storm Worm" Virus Coming]]>http://www.switched.com/2008/01/17/valentines-day-storm-worm-virus-coming/http://www.switched.com/2008/01/17/valentines-day-storm-worm-virus-coming/http://www.switched.com/2008/01/17/valentines-day-storm-worm-virus-coming/#commentsFiled under: ,

Storm Clouds
...And the Storm Worm strikes again. Like a computerized Tet Offensive, the team behind the now infamous Storm Worm uses holidays as an excuse to launch attacks on unsuspecting e-mailers. Christmas, New Year's, and now the computer criminals are prepping for an electronic Valentine's Day massacre.

The nature of Valentine's Day may make the attack much less effective. New Year's and Christmas are holidays in which people often reach out to family and friends they don't speak to on a regular basis, where as Valentine's tends to be celebrated privately by couples.

The attack is also not very sophisticated and can be easily thwarted by even the least computer savvy of users. The worm presents itself in the form of an e-mail with a Valentine's Day subject and a body consisting of a simple IP address. Clicking on the IP address takes you to a page that displays a heart and the message "your download should begin shortly." If your download doesn't automatically start it instructs you to click a download link and run the file.

The attack probably won't be as successful or as widespread as past outbreaks, but some sad lovers are sure to be infected.

From Ars Technica

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SwitchedValentine's Day "Storm Worm" Virus Coming originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>securitystorm wormStormWormvalentine's dayValentine'sDayviruswormThu, 17 Jan 2008 18:22:00 EST<![CDATA[New Malicious MySpace Friends Plant Viruses]]>http://www.switched.com/2008/01/17/new-malicious-myspace-friends-plant-viruses/http://www.switched.com/2008/01/17/new-malicious-myspace-friends-plant-viruses/http://www.switched.com/2008/01/17/new-malicious-myspace-friends-plant-viruses/#commentsFiled under: , ,

In the 'Star Wars' universe, it was Luke Skywalker's Rogue Squadron that was largely responsible for driving back the forces of the evil empire. However, in the world of computing, just about anything labeled "rogue" is a very bad thing indeed. So, reports of "rogue friends" on MySpace don't sound promising, and indeed they are not. Hacked and bogus accounts are nothing new on MySpace, but now they're packing viruses and have the potential to take over your computer.

According to the virus experts at McAfee, this new type of attack seems to be coming from hackers in the Ukraine or Malaysia. Requests from rogue friends look just like any other request, but once accepted, visiting the new friend's profile displays a popup that asks if you would like to download an official update to Windows. The update is, of course, not official, and should you click to download it, you will find yourself infected.

It goes without saying that, just like you shouldn't open e-mail attachments from random people, you should be cautious when accepting random friend requests from people you don't know.

From 'The Daily Mail'

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SwitchedNew Malicious MySpace Friends Plant Viruses originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>HackingMySpaceVirusThu, 17 Jan 2008 10:16:00 EST