Norton has compiled a list of the top US kids online searches last year and near the top of the pile was the somewhat predictable searches for “sex” and “porn” which were number four and five respectively with those aged 18 and under.

Norton, which is the anti-virus software made by Symantec, make the point that whilst parents may live in hope their teenage offspring are searching for things like the blockbuster movie hit New Moon, or in the case of the seven and unders Sesame Street, their kids will also be finding out a few other things as well.

However, the good news is that the top three kids’ searches in 2009 were YouTube, Google and Facebook.

But Norton advises parents to be aware of what their children are searching for, as each of the first three choices above can of course lead to highly inappropriate content. They are also recommend using a software package to help parents keep an eye on their kids online searches. The Norton OnlineFamily is one such choice for those parents keen to get help.

And when the stats are shown for those searches including the words Sex and Porn, there seems little differences between the boys and the girls. For example, although for boys the search term sex came in at number four, for girls it was only one less at number five. In case you were wondering, girls put the search words Taylor Swift in at number four.

As for the boy’s top 25 searches, they were mostly concerned, apart from the adult related words, with social networking and shopping sites, and games. The girls also had a panache for social networking sites, but were more interested in music, TV, film and celebrity sites.

Not surprisingly perhaps, recently deceased pop mega star Michael Jackson was the most popular celebrity search last year with kids, coming in at number 12, with Taylor Swift at number 13. Other top celebrity searches included Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Lil Wayne, Megan Fox, Eminem, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, the Black Eyed Peas, the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, and Chris Brown.

Marian Merritt, Norton Internet Safety Advocate, said:
“When it comes to online threats, parents need to be concerned about more than just their child running into inappropriate content. What makes OnlineFamily.Norton unique is that it gives parents insight into kids’ online activities and what interests them most so that parents can ensure they have a discussion with them about topics they’re curious about, as well as protect them from cyber threats.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Learn how to control your kids surfing here

Symantec has just announced the worldwide release of Norton Ghost 15.

Symantec, which develop and produce the renowned Norton security suite, claim that the Norton Ghost 15 is one of the industry’s most advanced PC backup and recovery solutions. It is also compatible with Windows 7 and offers 25G and 50G Blu-ray Disc support. What’s more, this latest version introduces a new cold imaging feature that images computers without installing the product. Furthermore, Norton Ghost uses Symantec’s ThreatCon indicator to automatically back up PCs in the event of a severe security threat.

Norton Ghost 15 is pitched as a professional-grade backup solution for both home users and small businesses. Amongst it’s many attributes, lost, or damaged files can be recovered and restored in the event of a system failure, even if the computer’s operating system does not start. Additionally, it provides a backup of an entire system, or specific files, and folders, whilst saving recovery points to offsite locations using FTP.

Dave Cole, senior director of consumer products, Symantec, said:
“Norton Ghost has been the essential imaging and recovery product since 1996. Consumers PCs have never been more central to people’s lives, or more at risk due to cybercrime and critical failures. Ghost 15 not only is a powerful disaster recovery tool, but also it adds important features such as Windows 7 compatibility and Blu-ray Disc support to keep current with the way people are using their computers today.”

Symantec highlights the fact that their Norton Ghost 15 is also supported by Windows 7 Bitlocker. This provides enhanced data protection through drive encryption and integrity checking, keeping stored data safe and protected. They also point out that it works with both 25G and 50G Blu-ray Discs and most storage drives. This includes external hard drives, networked drives and recordable, and rewritable, CDs and DVDs. And the hot backups feature allows users to back up their computers without having to shut it down first.

The cold imaging technology employed by Norton Ghost 15 effectively backs up files without installing the product which, says Symantec, saves time and money. A handy feature is that after purchasing a new computer, users can image the PC immediately before any software is loaded which means that factory settings remain intact. It also allows easy back up of a system by simply booting to the recovery environment (which is a light version of the Windows operating system) from the Norton Ghost CD, and then initiating a backup.

Guest Article by Neil Camp 

A recent report from computer giant Symantec – creator of the Norton brand of anti-virus products – has concluded that cybercriminals are employing increasingly persuasive online scare tactics to convince users to purchase rogue security software.

“Scareware”, a term for rogue security software, pretends to be legimate anti-virus applications and ironically, are often carriers of malicious code themselves.

The findings were part of Symantec’s Report on Rogue Security which is based on data obtained during the 12-month period of July 2008 to June 2009.

It is a simple case of preying on people’s fears that they may be vulnerable to attack say Symantec, who as of June 2009, had detected more than 250 distinct rogue security software programs. The most common method used by cybercriminals to infiltrate their rogue software involves placing ads on the screens of unsuspecting users which typically include false claims such as “…if this ad is flashing, your computer may be at risk or infected…” It urges the user to follow a link to scan their computer, or get software to remove the threat.

Worryingly, according to the study, 93% of the software installations for the top 50 rogue security software scams were intentionally downloaded by the user.

Stephen Trilling, Senior Vice President, Symantec Security Technology and Response, said
“The findings of our Report on Rogue Security Software make it clear that cybercriminals are willing, eager, and well-equipped to prey on today’s Internet user. To avoid becoming a victim of such predatory practices, Symantec strongly urges Internet users to make sure they are using the latest security protection and always obtain their security software directly from trusted vendors’ websites.”

Furthermore, said David Wall, PhD. professor, Centre for Criminal Justice Studies, University of Leeds:
“Scareware creators can scam thousands of people for comparatively small amounts of money all at the same time and make huge aggregate profits. This type of fraud works because the fake security software tricks users into believing they have an immediate threat which only their program can resolve. Ultimately, it’s a con. I would advise Internet users to be careful while online and only download from trusted sources.”

The report stated that the money lost by people downloading such rogue software programmes varied from $30 to $100, but the costs of regaining back personal details from an identity attack could be far greater.

It also said that not only did these pieces of malicious code try and attack a user’s computer, they could set-up a person’s computer for future attacks from other cybercriminals.

Symantec, like many other computer security companies, actively advises people to be aware that their personal details can be sold and bought on the internet in what is a thriving trade between cybercriminals.

They also advise computer users to be on their guard against the tricks employed by cybercriminals to get their rogue software in place.

Computers users should employ a number of tactics to keep themselves safe, including:

• avoid using website links in emails. Although it may look like a site you know, it may have been subtly altered into appearing to look the same, but actually link you to bogus site which does contain malicious software;
• when emails arrive with attachments, ensure they are from trusted sources, otherwise never view, open, or execute them;
• be suspicious of emails not directly addressed to your email address;
• beware very aware of pop-up windows and banner advertisements that mimic legitimate displays;
• look out for suspicious error messages displayed inside the web browser which are used by rogue security software scams use to lure users into downloading and installing their fake product.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Along with Symantec and McAfee, and a whole host of other computer security companies, BitDefender has announced that its new line-up of products which are compatible with Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 7.

BitDefender’s products – including Total Security, Internet Security and Antivirus – have all received certification ensuring that they work with Microsoft Windows 7. And they claim they provide customers with enhanced security, as well as innovative user interface features and reliability improvements.

The 2010 BitDefender line-up includes a number of new features:

• optimised scanning improvements
• active Virus Control
• first-ever usage profiles
• key system enhancements which is aimed at providing industry-leading proactive protection against all internet security threats, without slowing PC performance.

Ross Brown, Vice President of ISV and Solutions Partners for the Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft, said:
“Our ISV community is alive with innovation, and we’re committed to helping our partners drive the next generation of software experiences. Adding compatibility for the latest Microsoft operating systems helps ISVs to stay ahead of the competition and give their customers access to cutting-edge technologies.”

Vince Hwang, BitDefender Global Director, Product Management, said:
“Working together with Microsoft to achieve this certification allows BitDefender to meet the changing needs of our customers and provide the very best in security solutions to our users. These include intuitive user interfaces with usage profiles that cover anyone from gamers to parents, as well as improved security and reliability features including Active Virus Control, an innovative technology that monitors programs running on a user’s computer and detects malware-like actions as they execute.”

BitDefender claims to be the creator of one of the industry’s fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified security software.

The Company’s Antivirus 2010 product BitDefender Antivirus 2010 has also just received AV-Comparatives’ top certification level for its quality of performance. In all, some 16 antivirus products were tested by AV-Comparatives in August. They sought to find out which software had the highest detection rates and lowest false positives.

Viorel Canja, BitDefender’s head of antimalware lab, said:
“We are particularly pleased with this achievement as it is further proof that BitDefender provides the highest level of protection. The test shows that on this occasion we have outperformed our rivals in terms of false positive ratings with the lowest number of occurrences.”

Guest Article by Neil Camp

The worldwide computer security software market is set to grow some 8% in 2009 to a total value of $14.5 billion, compared to growth in 2008 of 19%.

Figures come from research group Gartner who have forecast 2010 growth of 13%, taking the market’s worth to $16.3 billion.

Europe’s share of the 2009 total market value is €3.2 billion in 2009, which represents a 7% growth from 2008.

Ruggero Contu, an analyst at Gartner, said:
“Although the worldwide security software market is affected by the economic downturn, the growth will continue to be strong in 2009 as security remains a critical area where drastic cuts cannot be afforded. In the medium term, the greatest growth opportunities will come from software as a service (SaaS), appliance based offering and small and medium businesses (SMBs), which are in security catch-up mode compared with large companies and therefore spend a higher percentage of their budgets on security.”

Mr Contu went on to say that:
“The security software market in 2008 was characterised by a high level of consolidation with the examples of McAfee purchasing Secure Computing, Symantec and Sophos acquiring MessageLabs and Ultimaco, respectively. This is a sector where further consolidation is expected in the near future.

“End-users are gradually moving to better-integrated multi-products, particularly in areas such as endpoint security and identity and access management. Vendors offering good integration in an already established and trusted technology partnership will be best-placed for success, as buyers prefer to deal with two or more vendors that already trust each other’s software and practices.”

The figures also revealed that in 2009, consumer security will remain the largest segment (in terms of total software revenue) in the security software market, representing 25 per cent of the total market.

Gartner goes on to estimates that it will account for $3.6 billion, growing nearly 5% in 2009. The enterprise security software market, formed by a number of segments including endpoint protection platform, email security boundary and user provisioning, is predicted to account for $10.9 billion, reaching 9% growth in 2009.

Gartner claims to be the leading information technology research and advisory company.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Computer security giant Symantec has launched the 2010 line-up of Norton products.

And, boast Symantec, Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton AntiVirus 2010 are their best products yet. Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Consumer Products and Marketing, Symantec, said:
“One in five people will become a victim of cyber crime.. “We know that hackers don’t destroy computers, they destroy lives. The powerful new reputation-based security in Norton 2010 gives people the power to deny digital dangers wherever they are found online.”

According to Symantec, the Norton 2010 products have maintained an eye on performance, in spite of adding significant new protection technology to the release. Independent third party test lab, PassMark Software, was commissioned to benchmark Symantec and top security software competitors’ performance impact on key metrics. Their main conclusions were:

• Fast install. Norton Internet Security 2010 installs in about a minute;
• Least working memory usage. Norton Internet Security 2010 uses just over 10MB;
• Fastest scan. Norton Internet Security 2010 scans in only 61 seconds on a hard disk drive and in only 31 seconds on an solid state drive.

But that’s not all. Symantec claim that the Norton Insight family of technologies in the new 2010 products uses extensive online intelligence systems to proactively protect the PC. This helps keep users informed of the security and performance impact of files and applications that they encounter in their everyday online experience.

Individual ‘intelligence’ components include:

• Norton Download Insight. This uses extensive online intelligence systems leveraging reputation to proactively protect a PC. Analyzes and reports on the safety of new files and applications before users install and operate;
• Norton System Insight. This provides features and easy-to-understand system information to help keep PCs performing at top speed. Automatic and on-demand application optimization rejuvenates application performance. Also provides a view of recent events on the computer, providing the information required to research and analyze PC issues. Performance graphs help pinpoint what’s causing a computer to slow down;
• Norton Threat Insight. This gives details on threats that have been detected on a PC – including useful information on where it came from (the URL) and when it was initially encountered;
• Norton Insight Network. This leverages a cloud-based approach unique to them, say Symantec. Based on the Quorum technology, it takes cloud-based security beyond traditional blacklists and whitelists. It uses a statistical analysis of file attributes based on billions of scans on millions of computers to identify the trust level of a file. This way Norton can identify files to be trustworthy, or untrustworthy, that would otherwise fall into the grey area of the unknown with only traditional security methods.

The Norton 2010 line-up also has a number of additional key technologies:

• SONAR 2. This is sophisticated second-generation behavioural security technology that detects entirely new threats based on their suspicious actions, without the need for traditional fingerprints. Leverages data from the reputation cloud, firewall, network communications, and file attributes such as location on the PC, to decide when to detect a program as a threat;
• New Antispam (Norton Internet Security only). This is a powerful enterprise-grade spam blocking engine helps keep a user clear of unwanted email and safe from email-based scams and infections. It is 20% more effective than the previous engine and requires no training;
• Norton Safe Web (Norton Internet Security only). This is a website rating service that annotates Google, Yahoo! and Live.com search results with site safety ratings to warn users about sites that may pose a danger to them. It also includes ecommerce safety ratings to help users make safer online shopping decisions;
• OnlineFamily.Norton (Norton Internet Security only). This is for Norton Internet Security 2010 and users can opt to try a subscription to OnlineFamily.Norton. This is a new Web-based service that keeps parents in the loop on their kids online lives and fosters communication about what’s appropriate and inappropriate behavior on the Internet.

Norton 2010 offers free technical support and continues to deliver free support to Norton 2010 customers across all available channels, via the web, email, chat or phone. All products support Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

Cyber crime has become bigger than drug trafficking for the criminal fraternity. Whats more, say security company Symantec who develop the Norton software range of anti-virus products, one in five people will become a victim of cybercrime in the future.

Symantec research has shown that every three and a half minutes a crime is committed on the streets of New York City, and that every two and half minutes a crime is committed on the streets of Tokyo. Compare that though with every three seconds an identity is stolen online; that’s nearly 10,512,000 identities each year.

And one of the real attractions for cyber criminals is not only the profitability of such crimes, but their anonymity as well, which makes online crimes much more difficult to prosecute than offline crimes.

In response, Symantec has launched a self-styled ‘crusade’ against viruses. It claims to be exposing the inner workings of one of the largest illegal industries in the world and in doing so, hopes to help provide the information that people need to stay protected through a collection of educational and actionable assets and corporate actions.

These include:

• Internet Black Market video series. These videos invite people to take a virtual tour and learn how the online criminal marketplace operates, including what is for sale and highlight the latest cyber thief schemes;
• Every Click Matters website. This takes what they claim to be an entertaining and educational look at the world of cyber crime, exploring digital dangers and who’s behind them, understanding whether cyber crime can actually do to people and educate them on what you can do about it;
• Norton Online Risk Calculator. Could be a useful add on as it offers a quick and free tool to evaluate a user’s risk level and provides an estimated value of their personal data to thieves in the criminal underground;
• “Cyber Crime Exposed” Booklet. This educates on the threat of cyber crime, the risk it poses and how to safeguard against it through simple everyday steps;
• Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton AntiVirus 2010. Symantec lobbies governments and other agencies and organizations around the globe to support and influence legislation, policy and public education as it relates to online crime, Internet safety and privacy.
• Making it harder for cyber criminals to scam computer users. Symantec educate on the threat of cyber crime, the risk it poses and how to safeguard against it through simple everyday steps;
• Norton Internet Safety Advocate. Via one Marian Merritt who is a nationally recognized representative for Symantec’s ongoing efforts surrounding Internet safety. She works alongside educators and public and private organizations to help families enjoy the Internet safely and securely.

So there you have it; viruses are now more popular than drugs.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

One of the biggest computer security companies has published a list of the most dubious websites for 2009.

Symantec, the company behind the Norton range of anti-virus products has identified the ‘Dirtiest Web Sites of Summer 2009.’ These are 100 sites with the most threats detected by the site ratings service Norton Safe Web as of August 2009. They represent the ‘worst-of-the-worst’ say Symantec, based on the number of threats detected by Norton Safe Web.

Symantec say that it’s no surprise that some 50% of the worst websites are those that feature pornographic content. But what did surprise them was that many of those in the top 100 did feature innocent subject matter, including deer hunting, catering, figure skating, legal services and buying electronics.

And the most common threat found on the top 100 dirtiest sites was malware, followed by security risks and browser exploits. What’s worse, is that simply visiting one of the worst sites could risk exposing a computer to infection and identity theft, even without clicking on an item, or downloading a file.

“This list underscores what our research shows – there has been exponential growth in the number of online threats that are constantly evolving as cybercriminals look for new ways to target your money, identity or assets. In 2008, most new infections occurred while people were surfing the Web1,” said Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec. “Norton Safe Web provides visual ratings that let consumers know about potential risks before visiting a site. Armed with this information, consumers are empowered to make informed decisions about which sites to visit.”

Symantec calculated that the average number of threats on the Dirtiest Web Sites list is an incredible 18,000 per site. Indeed, 40 of the 100 Dirtiest Web Sites have more than 20,000 threats per site.

And below is a sample of the Dirtiest Web Sites:

• 17ebook.com
• aladel.net
• bpwhamburgorchardpark.org
• clicnews.com
• dfwdiesel.net
• divineenterprises.net
• fantasticfilms.ru
• gardensrestaurantandcatering.com)
• ginedis.com
• gncr.org
• hdvideoforums.org
• hihanin.com
• kingfamilyphotoalbum.com)
• likaraoke.com
• mactep.org
• magic4you.nu
• marbling.pe.kr
• nacjalneg.info
• pronline.ru
• purplehoodie.com
• qsng.cn
• seksburada.net
• sportsmansclub.net
• stock888.cn
• tathli.com
• teamclouds.com
• texaswhitetailfever.com
• wadefamilytree.org
• xnescat.info
• yt118.com

Avoid the above like the plague.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

If you get an email with an attached PDF promising to explain all you need to know about the swine flu epidemic, don’t open it.

Computer security company Symantec is warning computer users that whereas the spammers were first to exploit public concerns about the possible swine flu pandemic, now the cyber criminals behind malware infestations are taking their turn.

An email with a PDF attachment called swine influenza frequently asked questions.pdf is currently doing the rounds and should not be opened.

It is a real PDF file and when opened, it will have a couple of swine flu related headings and a list of questions and answers. But if you get to the stage of reading it, then you will have already been infected.

It cynically plays on people’s fears to learn more about the disease and it’s implications for various countries.

Symantec say the good news is that if you are running up-to-date anti-virus software, it will have been picked up before it does any damage. The company technicians say the malicious PDF file is known as bloodhound.exploit6 and the dropped malicious file contained in the PDF as InfoStealer.

Adobe already have a patch for the vulnerability in their application and Symantec recommend that it is downloaded as soon as possible. Check the Adobe site for more information.

Guest Article by Neil Camp

It’s official; the hackers are getting better.

Not only are they doing it more often, but they are getting more efficient at doing it.

Hacking is no longer a pastime of the bored, adolescent youth in their bedroom, playing at seeing who can crack the code first. It’s big business and a raft of reports from the big security firms show that the hackers are operating with an alarming degree of planning, targeting and prior research.

The reports, including one from security firm Verizon, showed that cyber crime reached its highest level in 2008 and amounted to more than the total number of attacks over the previous four years. They went on to say that nine out of ten attacks against businesses were very well organised and some demonstrated a new level of sophistication from the cyber criminals.

And it was no surprise that some 93% of attacks were aimed at companies in the financial services sector.

Another report from security firm Symantec showed that stolen credit card details were swopping hands at a paltry four pence each, whereas the price to obtain a full person’s identity was a mere 50p. And many might be surprised to learn that there were advertisements posted on the web asking for people’s personal details. These ads grew in number by 32% in 2008, confirming that there is indeed a growing and healthy black market in personal identity fraud.

The reports also made much of the increase in spam traffic in 2008, up an eye-watering 192%, despite attempts by many companies to rid the world of this pernicious traffic. In 2008, there were nearly 350 billion unwanted messages, up from around 120 billion in 2007. And spam accounts for 80% of all email messages.

This is no surprise for anyone who sits there and sees the constant flow of spam emails that enter their inbox, advertising everything from a night with a Russian belly dancer (male, or female), to a box of pills that promises a new experience for every man. And they are child’s play when you consider the amount that pretend to be from a person’s bank asking them to reveal all their personal information, and others who play the old con trick that you’ve been left a ten million cheque, and all that’s needed to get your hands on it is a two hundred pound payment to pay for the administration costs.

The sad thing is, that if people didn’t respond to spam email, over 90% of it would dry-up as a waste of time. Unfortunately, there are still millions who fall for the same tricks everytime, making most email users very paranoid about what they are receiving.

Another security company, this one McAfee, had another quite successful spin on the spam email debacle. They calculated that the electricity used to create and send all those unwanted emails, was responsible for some 33 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. This is the same amount as it would take to run 2.4 million homes every year.

So, not only are the cyber criminals trying to steal our money, they are also killing the plant at the same time. Not a pleasant section of society at all.

Guest Article by Neil Camp