Worms are big things in the antivirus software industry and they have been playing havoc with short message website Twitter.

The Twitter engineers have had to work hard to plug gaps in their code which means that a flaw could be exploited by what the antivirus software industry call cyber criminals to embed pop-up messages which create links to porn sites.

At first users of Twitter only had to let their mouse mover over the message which had the embedded link and a new website (often porn related), would open in the browser. Quite a shock if you were wanting to read a Tweet from your favourite celebrity and all you got was a website dedicated to other matters. What worried the engineers most of all was that you didn’t even have to click on the link – just moving the mouse across the message was good enough to activate the url.

A worm, in antivirus software jargon, is a self-replicating piece of code which can cause havoc in a computer’s innards.

Security chief at Twitter Bob Lord wrote in a blog:
“This issue is now resolved. We apologise to those who may have encountered it. Users may still see strange retweets in their timelines caused by the exploit. However, we are not aware of any issues related to it that would cause harm to computers or their accounts. User account information was not compromised.”

It’s not the first time Twitter has been targeted and it certainly won’t be the last. A number of major Twitters were caught out by the problem, including, says the BBC, the wife of the former Prime Minister, Sarah Brown.

The embarrassing problem popped up for Twitter just after a major redesign job on its site. Interestingly, those people who used a third party website to read, or send Tweets, didn’t have the problem.

Experts say the problems lies in a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. This is a flaw which can be easily exploited by malicious code. In this incident, a command was written in the popular JavaScript which automatically directed people towards other websites, many of which were pornographic.

For anyone who understands coding and how it can be manipulated for nefarious reasons, a worm can be quickly written and then exploited on such websites as Twitter, much to the annoyance of antivirus software companies.

It’s reckoned that about 200,000 messages were compromised and observers believe that Twitter, which has been attacked on a large number of occasions, has to do more to protect its users.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

Good antivirus software and a firewall might have stopped the recent Zeus Trojan pinching personal banking data from over 100,000 people last month alone, but despite the attacks, online banking appears more popular than ever.

Antivirus firewall software is one of the main ways to ward off attack with use comparatively widespread nowadays this will help reduce the attacks. This might have helped the rise in confidence when it comes to online banking.

This growing use of online banking is no doubt pushing up the instances of online fraud, but consumers have confidence in the system to keep their details safe as they increasingly transfer money, pay bills and check their balance online. Despite this popularity, consumers do see drawbacks. For example, a survey conducted by eDigitalResearch claims 57% of people believe the loss of personal relations is a significant negative. In this list of concerns, the issue of security and identify theft come later, at 52% and 34% respectively, showing a decrease in major concern over internet banking security.

“This is a clear indication of the growth in consumer confidence, with many people happy to rely on existing security measures if it means greater convenience, more competitive pricing and a faster service online. There are a host of different payment options available today which don’t rely on credit card details to be provided, which is helping to boost consumer confidence. Many banking websites also help to advise on fraud prevention which also helps the consumer to protect their own computers against online scams,” says Lloyd Viney, Associate Director of eDigitalResearch.

What are the reasons for online banking in the first place?

The survey indicates that convenience is the biggest attraction not only for online banking, but for the managing of a person’s whole range of financial needs. For example, 78% of respondents in the eDigitalResearch survey believed that they could find a better deal for things such as insurance online. However, the tradition of going to your local bank to do things such as take out a mortgage, a loan, or open a new bank account, is still going strong. These kinds of activities are seen as the ones that are essential to still involve a personal relation.

So with the popularity of online banking ever on the rise, it seems increasingly important for the internet security essentials – such as antivirus firewall software – to be doing their job on our computers. If their protection of our personal data continues to add to the positive press around software security packages, the use of internet banking will continue to increase in the future.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Hot on the heals of the $7 billion deal which saw Intel snap up McAfee, and rumours in the antivirus software market that Microsoft is casting an eye over Symantec, Hewlett Packard has acquired ArcSight, a software security company.

Computer group Hewlett Packard is paying $1.5 billion for ArcSight, a major force in the antivirus software sector.

And Hewlett Packard is said to be continuing its aggressive growth strategy despite the loss of the man said to be the inspiration behind it, former chief executive Mark Hurd.

The full reasons behind the departure of Mr Hurd are still unclear, but allegedly involve allegations of sexual harassment brought by a female contractor to Hewlett Packard.

And the former boss of Hewlett Packard continues to be in the headlines, following news that he is being sued by his former employees who fear that he will divulge intellectual property secrets to his new company. Mr Hurd is now co-President of Oracle and apparently, say many observers, having the last laugh.

ArcSight develops software that is used by commercial entities to monitor their flow of data and help combat threats from fraudsters and cyber criminals.

Hewlett Packard is offering $53.50 per share for the Californian based ArcSight, a 24% premium on the company’s share price just prior to the announcement of the deal.

Hewlett Packard has also just completed another major deal, having won a war with rival Dell to acquire the data storage company 3P for $2.1 billion last month.

Investment analysts mostly dispute claims that the next major bid in the antivirus software market will be Seattle giant Microsoft making a land grab with a bid for Symantec, developers of the Norton range of products. But with McAfee losing its independence and ArcSight accepting the Hewlett approach, it’s likely that more deals will certainly follow.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The last version of Norton has been released and owners Symantec reckon it is the best anti virus application out there.

Claiming to be the best anti virus software in an increasingly crowded marketplace is quite a call, but Symantec, the company behind the Norton range of products, believe they are onto a winner with the 2011 line-up.

They highlighted the product’s launch with news that they reckon that some 65% of people worldwide are falling prey to cybercrime. They also focus on the fact that the just released Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security 2011 is the only comparable application to achieve a 100% protection score.

The score was achieved using a third-party test from Dennis Labs.

Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security 2011 also comes with a free tool, the Norton Power Eraser, which has been developed to handle ‘scareware’ applications. These are becoming an increasing problem for many users (they pop-up on users’ computers and declare that the machine is virus ridden) and a tool that can attack them aggressively and eliminate their malicious intent, will be welcomed by many in the market.

President of the Consumer Business Unit at Symantec, Janice Chaffin, said:
“Today’s cybercriminals are not standing down – consumers need the very best protection to stay safe online. The Norton 2011 products are the highest quality we have ever built and the most comprehensive protection on the market with additional, value-added tools for protecting customers from today’s ever-evolving threats.”

Symantec claim that Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security 2011 is packed full of new features, performance improvements and enhancements, and free tools.

It has also undergone extensive stress testing by Dennis Labs, which has had its security testing methodology revived by AMTSO, the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization.

The key components of the new Norton product are as follows.

Taking the lead is Reputation Based Security. This checks whether a particular download is risky (comparing it to the downloads undertaken from its near 60 million user customer base) and whether the programme is likely to contain malware. The check is almost instant, which prevents users from getting trapped.

Next up is the System Insight 2.0. At the core of this feature are Proactive Performance Alerts and these constantly monitor all running applications, recognising when a particular programme is hogging the machine’s resources.

Moving along and attention switches to the Download Insight 2.0. Symantec claim that this provides the best, and most fearsome, reputation-based protection system. It checks every download before they are allowed to operate on the computer.

SONAR 3 –as the name might suggest – adds the spice of behavioural security, which gets to the nitty gritty with ‘zero-day’ protection against emerging threats. And it takes any confusion away from the user as it automatically makes the key decisions.

Last, but not least, is the dependable Norton Bootable Recovery Tool. This is useful if a machine becomes seriously compromised and needs to boot up in a safe mode so that a cleansing operation can take place.

Performance is said to be industry leading and previous users will see a smart new look.

Is it the best anti virus to date? Only time will tell, but given the ever increasingly online threats, it does need to be pretty good.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

For those wondering if they need the best internet security software when surfing, they should read the latest study from Norton.

The Norton range of anti-virus products is developed by the Symantec company and their latest study will no doubt convince the most sceptical of computer users that they require protection by using the best internet security software out there. Cybercrime is pervasive and indiscriminate, and Norton reveals that 65% (two thirds) of internet users globally have been affected by some form of cybercrime. In the US alone, 73% of internet users have faced cybercrime in some shape or form; whether that’s viruses, identity theft, or the loss of personal information. China is the worst affected country at 83%, with Brazil and India also huge targets at 76%.

Cybercrime does not just affect your computer; it takes an undeniable toll on the people involved. Norton decided to take this angle when putting together their report. In their survey, they asked for internet users to tell them the feelings that are elicited by cybercrime. The strongest reactions were annoyance at 51%, anger (58%), and a sense of feeling cheated (24%). There is also no doubt that these victims have felt overwhelming helplessness; the report showed that 80% of internet users questioned believe that the cybercriminals will never be punished. With no belief that the criminals can be brought to justice, internet users feel unable to move on.

Joseph LaBrie, PhD, professor of psychology at Loyola Marymount University, says: “We accept cybercrime because of a ‘learned helplessness’. It’s like getting ripped off at the garage – if you don’t know enough about cars, you can’t argue with the mechanic. People just accept a situation, even if it feels bad.”

No wonder, then, that there is an apathy towards reporting a crime that has been committed. However, software security companies urge internet users to report these crimes just like they would feel compelled to any other kind of crime: there are ways of dealing with these criminals.

Adam Palmer, Norton lead cyber security advisor, explains: “We all pay for cybercrime, either directly or through pass-along costs from our financial institutions. Cybercriminals purposely steal small amounts to remain undetected, but all of these add up. If you fail to report a loss, you may actually be helping the criminal stay under the radar.”

So what can internet users do to keep themselves safe from cybercriminals in the first place? Norton’s report echoes many security companies who urge users to buy comprehensive security software for their computers; the first and best defence against these criminals. The best internet security software will keep your computer safe, not only from day-to-day annoyances, but also from making you into another cybercrime-related statistic.

Guest Article by Neil Camp