Ryan Naraine

A new Internet worm is squirming through Microsoft Corp.’s popular MSN Messenger chat network, anti-virus vendors warned on Thursday. The latest threat comes follows October’s Funner worm attack and signals a growing trend to use instant messaging as a delivery mechanism for malicious activity. According to an advisory from F-Secure, the new W32/Bropia-A worm users […]

Oracle Corp. late Tuesday issued a “critical patch update” to address 23 security holes in its database and application server products. The patches were released as part of Oracle’s first quarterly patching cycle and fix a series of undisclosed flaws ranging from manipulation of data, exposure of sensitive information, privilege escalation and denial-of-service attacks. The […]

Microsoft will patch its Windows Media Player after all. One week after saying it had no plans to change the way WMP (Windows Media Player) handles the download of DRM licenses, Microsoft now says it will release an update in the next 30 days to help thwart the threat of spyware infection. The about-face comes […]

Microsoft Corp. says it has no plans to change the way its Windows Media Player handles the download of DRM licenses. Amid reports that malicious hackers are using the anti-piracy mechanism to infect computers with spyware, adware, dialers and computer viruses, Microsoft officials stressed that the latest attack scenario does not exploit a vulnerability in […]

Looking to improve—and possibly speed up—the creation and release of software security patches, Microsoft Corp. is implementing a closed beta program for external testing teams. The formalization of Redmond’s new Security Update Validation Program clears the way for external patch testers to get “limited and controlled access” to security updates ahead of public release. The […]

Microsoft has released a fix for a critical hole in the HTML Help ActiveX control in Windows, but a well-known vulnerability in the Internet Explorer browser remains unpatched. Just days after a researchers raised the threat level because an IE exploit was making the rounds, Microsoft rolled out a patch that lessens the danger. But […]

The rumors were true. Apple plans to release two models of a low-priced, bring-your-own-display Mac mini later this month. The Mac mini, unveiled Tuesday at the Macworld expo in San Francisco, is priced between $499 and $599 and is scheduled to hit stores Jan. 22. The desktop computer features a CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo drive, USB 2.0, […]

Hackers are using the newest DRM technology in Microsoft’s Windows Media Player to install spyware, adware, dialers and computer viruses on unsuspecting PC users. Security researchers have detected the appearance of two new Trojans, Trj/WmvDownloader.A and Trj/WmvDownloader.B, in video files circulating on P2P (peer-to-peer) networks. According to Panda Software, both Trojans take advantage of the […]

Continuing its recent spate of security moves, Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said it plans to release a virus detection and removal tool on Jan. 11. The antivirus fighter will be updated on the second Tuesday of every month as part of the company’s scheduled software patching cycle. Meanwhile, exactly three weeks after acquiring anti-spyware startup […]

Almost a month after Microsoft released a fix for a security issue in the WINS (Windows Internet Name Service) name server, malicious exploits continue to haunt tardy network administrators. According to an alert from the SANS ISC (Internet Storm Center), there has been a startling increase in hacker probes directed at TCP port 42 and […]

Network security vendor Symantec Corp. has rolled out fixes for three high-risk security holes in its Nexland Firewall appliances. The flaws could put users at risk of security bypass, manipulation of data and denial-of-service attacks, according to an advisory from research outfit Secunia, which rates the vulnerabilities as “highly critical.” Symantec confirmed that the vulnerabilities […]

Microsoft on Thursday rushed to put the kibosh on talk that it was abandoning the single sign-on Passport identity management service. But even as company officials insist that Passport “will be around for a long time,” it has become increasingly clear that a series of security-related hiccups has ruined consumer trust in the Web-based tool. […]