F-Secure, the Finnish computer security company, has released a free online tool to check the health of your computer.

Called F-Secure Health Check, it is a free online tool that helps to pinpoint security problems and gives clear advice on how to fix them. It examines a person’s computer to see if it is secure and up-to-date for internet use.

Mika Ståhlberg, Vice President of F-Secure Labs, said:
“F-Secure Health Check checks the status of security solutions running on the computer. More than one million people have already used the free tool and our data shows that a third of its users either haven’t installed an antivirus, firewall or antispyware, they are outdated or turned off. Out-of-date or nonexistent security software leave users wide open to malicious software and exploits.”

Additionally, the F-Secure Health Check free tool ensures that a person’s computer’s firewall, antivirus and anti-spyware are working properly, and are up-to-date. It also checks whether the Windows operating system, third party software and Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer web browsers are the latest available versions.

F-Secure point out that with more people visiting diverse web sites and using their computers to watch films, or listen to music, the most vulnerable places open to attack are the heavily used web browsers, media players and plug-ins that are often the most open to attack.

The free tool also verifies whether all your irreplaceable files like photos, music and other documents are being safely backed up by an automatic backup solution.

F-Secure say that their Health Check is quick and easy to run, and does not require to be installed.

It includes the following features:

• Windows 7 compatible;
• Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 compatible;
• Automatic backup solution detection;
• Simplified user experience with three steps and a solutions page;
• Optimized for mini-laptops;
• New Java based launch point technology (no more ActiveX).

The free health check tool is one of a number of security diagnostic checks available from the computer security companies. And although they are of course a marketing device which introduces a potential customer to the company, they do have their role to play. But it’s unlikely that after such a free health check, a product purchase is not recommended.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

Who’s the most dangerous celebrity in cyberspace? Whose name is most attached to those websites and downloads that might just contain a virus? According to computer security company McAfee, top of the charts for 2009 is Jessica Biel.

Ms Biel is not only the top celebrity internet search request because of her much admired figure, but also because of her high profile relationship with mega-star Justin Timberlake. But, for example, McAfee reckon that almost half of the sites promising Jessica Biel screen-savers were identified as containing malicious downloads with spyware, adware and potential viruses.

Interestingly, McAfee discovered that web searches for political celebrities like Barak and Michelle Obama were less likely to lead to sites that contain viruses. They ranked 34th and 39th respectively.

It’s a well known ploy for cyber criminals to use celebrity ‘come-ons’ to get people looking up certain sites. This is the third time that McAfee has compiled its annual list using its SiteAdvisor technology for celebrity names that produces the largest number of risky sites and overall risk percentage, when searched on the Web.

“Cybercriminals are star watchers too. They latch onto popular celebrities to encourage the download of malicious software in disguise…” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs. “Consumer’s obsession with celebrity news and culture is harmless in theory, but one bad download can cause a lot of damage to a computer.”

Number two in the hit parade is pop music diva Beyonce who has been in the second slot for two years now. Inputting Beyonce ringtones into a search engine yielded a dangerous web-site linking to a distributor of adware and spyware.

The others were, in order after Biel and Beyonce:

3. Jennifer Aniston. It was discovered that over 40% of Google search results for screensavers featuring this favourite Friends star contained some evil viruses, including one called the Fun Love virus;
4. Tom Brady. Many fans of American Football try downloading free files of this New England Patriots star in action, but they should watch out, because many are infested with a Trojan.
5. Jessica Simpson. Be warned, a video download of this star can lead to serious computer health problems;
6. Gisele Bundchen. Perhaps it’s not surprising that the world’s top supermodel is a target for the cybercriminals. And many searches of this celebrity’s name ends up with links to some dubious websites;
7. Miley Cyrus. Links to many harmful sites containing spyware.
8. Megan Fox/Angelina Jolie. Equally risky, as searches for these names often lead to risky websites;
9. Ashley Tisdale. Look for screensavers for this popular High Street Musical star and you might get more than you bargained for, including malware downloads;
10. Brad Pitt. Although this famous film star has fallen from last year’s top spot, a search for his name still resulted in a large number of red and yellow ranked websites;
11. Reese Witherspoon. Search for this name and you can enter a number of risky websites, plus many of the downloadable pictures contain malware.
12. Britney Spears. Such a popular search is bound to attract its fair share of nasties and if you search for this pop diva, then watch out. McAfee found one site promoting Britney Spears wallpaper had more than 50 potentially infected downloads;
13. Rihanna. Fans of Rihanna ringtones had better take care – they are some of the most sought after – but McAfee warns users that they are some dubious sellers out there who seem intent only on collecting personal information and selling it on;
14. Lindsay Lohan. Many of the Lindsay Lohan screen saver sites are infected with Trojans, viruses and spyware.
15. Kim Kardashian. She may be one of the biggest reality stars for many months, but many Kim Kardashian wallpaper and screen savers are home to a fair amount of lurking malware.

So, be warned, when downloading your favourite celebration digital wallpaper, screen savers, images, or ringtones, ensure that you are using bona fida websites, otherwise you might get a bit of a shock.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The computer security giant McAfee has identified which Internet searches are most dangerous to computer safety and which are the safest.

McAfee’s report, entitled ‘The Web’s Most Dangerous Search Terms’ claimed that dangerous Internet searches include searching for things such as free music or screensavers. These search terms are used by cybercriminals to ensnare web users and lead them to their own websites.

Once a web surfer has visited this website, they are vulnerable to downloads that infect your computer, such as spyware which can help reveal private bank details to hackers and other cybercriminals.

McAfee’s report also identifies that these dangerous search terms are changing with regard to the new global economic environment. With higher numbers of people being made redundant due to the economic slump affecting so many, cybercriminals are now using search results to target people looking to save money or find a job working at home.

Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Product Development & Avert Labs said: “Cybercriminals are smart. Like sharks smelling blood in the water, hackers will create related Web sites laden with adware and malware whenever a particular topic increases in popularity. Unsuspecting consumers are then tricked into downloading malicious software that leads them to blindly hand over their personal assets to cybercriminals.”

The riskiest set of search words, according to McAfee’s report, include keywords to the variation of ‘screensavers’. The research concluded that nearly six out of the top 10 search results for the keyword ‘screensavers’ contained some form of malware.

The riskiest search of the 2,600 most popular keywords that McAfee researched was ‘lyrics’, with the risk factor rising to one in two.

The research concluded, however, that the word Viagra was one of the least risky of keywords. The keywords with the safest risk profile included search words related to health and the current economic climate.

McAfee’s report also indicated global variations on these risks. Many of these countries had keyword categories that ended up exposing web surfers to the higher risk sites. 12 countries were exposed to an overall higher risk than McAfee’s average, including Mexico and India. McAfee’s report therefore pointed to cybercriminals targeting those outside of the U.S.

McAfee gave caution to home workers and to those looking to save money: if a result contains the word ‘free’ it has a 21.3% chance of infecting a computer with spyware, spam, adware and other malicious cyber threats. The search ‘work from home’ is four times riskier than the average risk given for all popular terms.

To protect against these vulnerabilities, McAfee SiteAdvisor Technology has been designed. This rates every trafficked site on the Internet to conduct automated tests. Web sites are ranked using coloured ratings, so that users are knowledgeable as to what they are clicking on. McAfee have also recently announced the Cybercrime Response Unit to help arm users against the threat.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Seattle based software giant Microsoft has reportedly developed an antivirus programme that it will give away free, alarming certain computer security experts that it will fall short of a number of key features and expose users to attacks.

Believed to be called Morro, the software will initially only take on viruses, and not offer such additional features as parental controls for surfing.

The irony is of course, that many virus attacks come about because of holes (‘bugs’) in such operating systems as Microsoft’s Windows, hence the need for constant patching (in the form of Service Packs) after the release of the product.

This will be Microsoft’s second foray into the highly competitive world of computer security. Its first, called the Windows Live OneCare, made little impression on the overall market for sophisticated security products. It is thought that Live OneCare will be dropped once Morro is ready for release (a Beta version will come first).

Morro has been created to tackle viruses in the shape of spyware, rootkits and trojans.

But, as many computer security experts fear, this is not enough to counter attacks from modern day hackers who employ a whole raft of viruses and techniques in order to attack people’s computers. The danger many feel is that many computer users will be lulled into a false sense of security by using such a package as Morro. And they will eventually discover that they need a more sophisticated programme in order to keep them safe from viruses.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Computers in the National Health Service (NHS) have been hit by 8,000 viruses in the last year alone.

More4News instigated A Freedom of Information investigation which discovered the extent of the virus attacks which have included all sorts of malicious code including worms, Trojans and spyware. This has in some cases caused havoc within some departments of the NHS, causing postponed appointments, diverted ambulances and staff being locked out of their computers.

Apart from the widespread inconvenience, this has caused one department to suffer a three-week back-log of appointments.

One virus was caused Mytob and was a worm which caused chaos throughout London hospitals in November, 2008. Mytob quickly infiltrated networks and computers and simply overloaded systems.

But far from indicating a complete failure of the NHS computer systems, security experts say that it comes down to NHS IT staff not updating their systems properly. In other words, most of the virus attacks could have been prevented with effective IT management.

And for those that are concerned that such a lack of security might mean that their personal records might one day appear on the internet for all to see, the NHS point out that electronic records are protected by the highest levels of security.

After suffering 8,000 virus attacks in on year, that might be hard for many to believe.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

According to a recent report, around 12 million computers users in the U.K. have been on the wrong end of a virus attack in the last six months.

Viruses come in many shapes and forms, but people are now getting used to the words worm, hacker, malware and spyware.

And the report bemoans the fact that despite there being acres of media coverage on malicious computer attacks, and there being a multitude of anti-virus products, so many people still continue to fall foul of the cybercriminals.

The report also questions why such attacks continue, given the fact that 95% of those questioned claim to use anti-virus software protection.

Worryingly, of those attacked, nearly 40% stated the attack caused a problem to their system, with 10% saying that a virus attack had made their computer unusable. And 5% said that they had personal information stolen.

Nearly 10% admitted that the attack had followed after a visit to an adult content website, which proved theories that many cybercriminals use such sites to attract the unwary.

And when it comes to virus attacks, it seems that men are more vulnerable than women. Some 27% of men were affected, as opposed to 21% of women. Not surprisingly, it was the youngster being caught more often than their elders. Of those under 20, nearly 40% had been affected by a virus.

The report highlighted the latest worm scare that had worried computer security experts and users alike was the Conficker. Also known as Downadup and Kido, this worm has infiltrated an estimated 15 million computers worldwide and turns them into slaves, or zombies. They then form part of a botnet which is under the control of the hacker, and can either be used to issue millions of spam emails, or steal information off the systems.

The zombie computer, once infected, is helpless as it becomes under the control of the hacker. It opens the ‘back door’, allowing spyware and other malicious programmes to be downloaded deep into its systems. The user usually remains unaware of what is happening, especially as the worm stops the on-board anti-virus programme working.

Guest Article by Neil Camp