Latest News & Info From Forums Dec 31

Latest Security & News Info

• Friendster Phish Making Rounds
• AVG Anti-Spyware Discontinued
• Google Calendar Phish Scam
• Web Browser Flaw Exposes Secure Sites
• Fake X-Mas eCards.....Again
• MS Cleans Rogues Off 400K PCs
• Innovative Marketing Found In Contempt
• 1 Million Ways To Infect Your PC
• US Still Leader Of Malware Sources
• Bug Found In Online Scanner
• Net Takes Over Newspaper As Source
• Castle Cops Shuts Down

TeMerc Joins Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Team!!!

Read all about my exciting new position with one of the premier anti-malware tools available today.

TeMerc Now Employed By Malwarebytes

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 17

Latest Security & News Info

• FTC Investigating Innovative Marketing
• F-Secures Health Check

Recent Forum Discussions

• Which Is Safer, IE or Firefox?
• 5 Things About Digital TV Switch
• YaHoo! IM: Serving Ads In Chat Window

Vista Install Update

Ok, so far so good. Vista is running fine and I'm working on personalizations and tweaks.

If there's one thing that bugs me is that I cannot seem to figure out how to keep the cool Vista start button\black menu and change the Windows color. The oh-so-pretty blue just don't cut it. If you know where I can either find that tweak or download some freebie, drop me a comment or reply in the forums.

My news reader, Great News works great from the XP partition.

I've gotten my MailWasherPro all set up but I still need to work out what I'm doing wrong with Outlook. Steven provided me some steps to open it from the Vista drive but I can't seem to get it just right yet.

I also need to see if that can be done with Expression Blend.

I've installed Online Armour Firewall, so we'll see how that works. For av I'll likely go with one of the freebies, not sure which one yet tho.

So today will be spent working out those things and other settings. Thanksfully Jr has a playdate with a pal after school, so I'll have a good amount of time to do all this.

Reinstalling Vista Ultimate Today

Well, after a year and a half, I've decided to re-install Visat Ultimate, this time w\SP1 and begin using it more. I've been shying away from for it for too long. And now it seems pretty much everyone has a Vista capable version of thier software.

So I'll keep everyone abreast of how things go.

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 10

Latest Security & News Info

• Anatomy Of A Spam Business
• 0-Day IE Flaw Being Exploited
• FTC Investigating Innovative Marketing

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 9 - Pt III

Latest Security & News Info

• Huge Security Flaw @ Facebook
• SpywareInfo.com Bought by Badguys

Time To Exclude The Bad ISPs

In recent months, three questionable Internet service providers — EstDomains, Atrivo, and McColo — were effectively taken offline resulting in noticeable drops of malware and spam.

It is hard to argue that such takedowns, which took the command-and-control servers for several major botnets offline, would not benefit everyone who uses the Internet. Estimates of the decrease in spam from the McColo takedown ran from 40 to 80 percent, even if it lasted only for a short time. More importantly, as bulletproof hosting providers drop bad actors from their client list, the cost of hosting the command-and-control servers go up. Increasing the transaction costs to commit cybercrime is one of the best strategies to reduce it.

Time to Exclude Bad ISPs

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 9, Part II

Latest Security & News Info

• McAfee Virtual Security Report
• Stop Blaming Microsoft For Security Woes

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 9

Latest Security & News Info

• Downloader Trojan Exploits IE7
• Next Gen Of Cyber Threats
• Despite Botnet Shutdowns, Hackers Winning

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 8

Latest Security & News Info

• More Fake Microsoft Spam
• Google Testing ActiveX Alternative

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 8

Latest Security & News Info

• More Fake Bank Demo Spam
• SpamBot From McColo Shutdown Reborn
• Spammers Sidestep SMTP
• Russian Mafia Biggest Cyber Syndicate
• Most Common Attack Vectors
• New Forum Anti-Spam Code Topics

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 6

Latest Security & News Info

• Thieves Winning Online War
• BitDefender Top 10 For Nov.
• ClassmatesDotCom Fast Flux Malware
• 2008: Year Of Cyber Criminal Innovation



Recent Forum Discussions

• Dell: Want XP? Cough Up $150

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 3

Latest Security & News Info

• New Password Stealer In Wild
• Infection Redirects Users From temerc & hphosts
• The Day The Net Died

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Dec 2

Latest Security & News Info

• Rock-Phishing In December
• Trusted Source Bought By McAfee
• CBS Sub Domain iFramed
• Atrivo, McColo & Now Ecatel
• Phish From Big Firms Contains Malware



Recent Forum Discussions

• Temerc.com Nov. Stats
• Blacklisted In Cyber space
• Temerc User:IE7 & 64Bit Query

Happy Thanksgiving! Latest News & Info From Forum

Latest Security & News Info

• Malware Laden X-Mas E-Cards Starting Up
• Srbizi Botnet Head Chopped Off
• Diverse Portfolio Of Rogues Prt 14

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 25

Latest Security & News Info

• Botnet Returns, Despite Efforts
• Capital One Survey Phish
• MS Warns On New Windows Attack
• BOA Fake Demo Page, Actually Keylogger

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 25

Latest Security & News Info

• Y2K & The Digital Apocolypes
• Localizing Cyber Crime-Part Two
• US Gov't To Encrypt Root DNS Hosts
• Rustock & Its Spam Is Back
• Pharma Extorsionists Really Did It!
• Top TLDs Abused By Phishers
• MS Helps Battle Bogus Emails

New Blogspot Trickery?

This last weekend I was perusing the Blogspot domain for fake\rogue pages which re-direct users to fake scans to get malware installed. Or to try and goad users into purchasing fake security software, which in and of itself is also malware.

As I was tracking the sites, which btw is easy as pie if you know what to look for, I noticed a new trick they use. Instead of either having a pop up box which just slides down the page as you scroll or have you click a link to generate a pop up, they have the page load and if you click anywhere on the page, a new instance of IE starts up, at a fake scan page. No matter where on the page you place your mouse, if you click, that's what happens.

I'm having a look at how this is done and will provide more on that as I get the info.

I'm not coder by any strecth, so I need to talkk to someone who is.

New Template= Zero Hits...WTF??

Ever since I changed the temlate on this blog, as of Oct 21, give or take, this blogs hits have tanked literally to zero, according to Google Analytics.

Yet, my referrer logs indicate blogspot domain links as the most linked from by far, which it has always been. How is this possible?

Maybe something I need to change in settings for analytics? Somethings out of friggin wahack here for sure.

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 24

Latest Security & News Info

• KAV Oct Malware Miscelany
• Fake Wal-Mart Survey Phish
• Rogue DNS Servers On Move
• Vista SP 2 Ready For Feb

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 21

Latest Security & News Info

• MS Now Top In 5 In Spam Friendly ISPs
• 'Tween' Targeted Malware Hits Net



Recent Forum Discussions

• Report: Net Not As Dangerous For Kids
• Google's SearchWiki Debuts
• Windows 7: Taskbar Info

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 20

Latest Security & News Info

• New Vulnerability Found In Vista
• Rogue Banner Ads On hotmail & SkyDrive
• Fake Activation\Unsubscribe Sites
• New Web Exploitation Kit
• Slingshot Phish & Worm Laden PayPal Email
• Teen Hacker Admits 3 Year Spree



Recent Forum Discussions

• Teens Learn Technical, Social Skillz Online
• IE 8 Update Plans
• PC Magazine Going All Digital
• Get Ready For Black Friday
• Poll: You Spend 14 Hours Online Weekly

Forums Back Up...

Forums are now back up.....did anyone notice they were off? LOL

Forums Down-Unknown Reason

Not sure what I did, but something has taken the forum offline.

Awaiting support, hope to be up soon.

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 18

Latest Security & News Info

• MS To Offer Free Anti-Malware App 09
• Malvertizments @ Paltalk
• Oct: Web Malware Jumps 21%
• No Due Diligence=Cyber Crime Aplenty
• Keylogger Ordered Off Market
• Hotmail Scam: Verify Info Before Delete
• Ed Bott: Deep Look Into Windows 7

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 17

Latest Security & News Info

• Cyber Scumbags DDoS Anti-Fraud Site
• Spam Drop Could Boost Trojan Installs
• Cybercrime May Spike Cyber Monday
  

Recent Forum Discussions

• Formula 1 » FIRST PICS: Interim 09 F1 car
• Get Zone Alarm Pro Free!

FSpamlist Forums Now Hosted @ temerc.com

Welcome FSpamlist support forums to temerc.com

AVG Offers Goodie For Update Screw Up

AVG Offers Free License Or Upgrade For Update Snafu

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 13

Latest Security & News Info

• Orkut Malicious Spam
• Spyware Doctor f\ps In Latest Update
• Huge International Drug Peddlers Raid

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 12

Latest Security & News Info

• Diverse Portfolio Of Rogues-Pt. 13
• More Compromised Legit Domains For Sale
• Estdomains Termination To Go Ahead
• Cyber Crime Hoster McColo Web Taken Down
• MS Looking Into Hotmail Issues

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 10

Latest Security & News Info

• Nigerian Scammers Hit Facebook
• Rogue Using GeoTagging For Fake Pop Ups
• DNS Inventor Tackles Flaw
• Thousands Hit By Web Attack
• ATMSO Publishes Testing Guidelines
• Internet Attacks To Grow More Potent
• MS: ActiveX Still Threat To Vista
• 7 things About Windows 7 You May Not Know

Zlob File Updates

Latest Zlob File Updates

Latest IE Defender Rogue Family Update

Latest IE Defender, Files Secure, Malware Bell, IE Antivirus, Total Secure 2009 File Updates

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Nov 8

Latest Security & News Info

• Security Expert On Russian Gangs, Botnets
• MS November Advance Security Bulletin
• Origins Of Net Lingo; FWIW, Brb, lol
• Windows 7: X-Mas 09 Release?

TJMaxx Conspiritor Charged, Feds Warn On Loan Scams

Latest Security & News Info

• NYer Charged With Making TJ Maxx Sniffer
• Feds Warn On Loan Scams

Portfolio Of Rogue, ICANN Needs To Get Tough

Latest Security & News Info

• Portfolio Of Fake Security Software-Pt 12
• Time For ICANN To Grow A Set

$10 Coupon on 1 GB WinPatrol Flash Wristband

Do I even need to say it? Just go get one already.

$10 Coupon On Win Patrol Flash Wristband

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 31

Latest Security & News Info

• World Bank Woes Spur Spam
• Update Opera Browser-NOW
• Email Marketing Tools Empower Spammers
• 'Scareware' Just Another Intruder
• Estdomains Termination Process Stayed
• How To Combat A Botnet Army



Recent Forum Discussions

• Completetala Infections
• Famous Hacker Indicted
• Ed Bott: Windows & Answers
• 24: Season 7 Trailer Online
• Top 15 Bond Gadgets

Some Minor Additions To Malware Advisor

Hi folks, today I've added some things to my blog which were options of Blogger.

You can now see all my labels or tags as listed below in order of total posts per that particular label\tag.

I also now display people who are following me. Over at Feedburner this number was supposedly 51. Not sure how the Blogspot one will work and if it will get to that number.

I've also enabled the gadget so you can see some of the blogs I'm currently following. Mind you there are only a small amount there as I'm currently following close to 150 in my reader, but I don't want to add all those here.

Hope these lil additions will make following me easier or just improve the over all ease of use of the blog and perhaps searching.

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 24

Latest Security & News Info

• CRITICAL Patch Requires Immediate Update
• Compromised Legit Domains For Sale


Recent Forum Discussions

• ICANN 'Guidelines For New TLDs
• Vista SP 2 Beta Ready

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 22

Latest Security & News Info

• Better Business Bureau Spam
• Portfolio Of Rogues-Pt 10
• Botnet Experts Meet To Access Threats
• Flash Updating Won't Fix Clickjacking
• Keylogging Hardwired Keyboards w\Antennae
• F-Secure: Call For 'Internetpol'
  

Recent Forum Discussions

• temerc.com Makes Malware Authors List!
• Telemarketers & Caller ID Spoofing Gone Wrong
• Big Net Changes Ahead
• MS Gets Patent On Real Time F-Bomb Bleeping
  

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 17

Latest Security & News Info

• Internet-Scale Man-In-The-Middle Attack
• Atrivo Shutdown Hastened Storm Demise
• Blogspot Malware Sites Closed
• BitDefender Top 10-Sept
• Directi: Still Harboring Malware Sites



Recent Forum Discussions

• US Teen Admits To DDoS
• Google To Alert Webmasters To Patch

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 16

Latest Security & News Info

• Diverse Portfolio Of Rogues-Part Nine
• TorrentReactor Data Exposed Online
• Fake Antivirus: 15M Per Month?
• Spammers Use Cloaking To Hide
• Facebook IM Phish Threat
• 3Xs Rogue Banner Ads


Recent Forum Discussions

• Banner Ads: They Don't Work....DUH
• AVG Tags Zone Alarm As Trojan

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 16

Latest Security & News Info

• 3Xs Rogue Banner Ads
• Security Update: Flash Player
• Warezov Botnet Back In Action
• Guilty Plea In FTC Shuttered Spam Case
• Cyber Threats Grow In Complexity
• More Blogspot Malware
• VirusList: Sept Malware
• Malware Authors Develop VPN Network
• FTC Shuts Massive Spam Ring
• MSN Messenger Spam Run
• Tools Of Malware Trade: Quality Assurance
• New Laws To Track Predators Online



Recent Forum Discussions

• ZoneAlarm\Windows Update Problems, Again
• MSN Ditching MSN Groups?
• Windows 7 Name Piques Interest On 'Why'?
• Vista SP 2 Coming Before Windows 7
• Internet Use 'Good For The Brain
• It's Official: Next Windows OS-Windows 7
• Use GMail To Fight Spam

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 10

Latest Security & News Info

• Google Bug Empowers Phishers
• World Bank Under Cyber Siege
• Adzilla Leaves US Market
• US Gov't Proposing Digital Signing Of DNS

We Have Our 1000th User In The Forums!!

Celebrate Our 1000th User: jbowman216!

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 7

Latest Security & News Info

• Two Europeans Busted For DDOS Attacks
• New Spam Campaign Uses Read Receipts
• Diverse Portfolio Of Rogues Pt 8
• iPhone Security Problems

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 6

Latest Security & News Info

• Report: Atrivo Demise=8% Spam Drop
• Is The Storm Over?
• Popular Anti-Virus Uninstallers
• Can't Access Your E-Mail? Good Luck!

Directi Yank cr4nk

Directi Take Down Cyber Criminal Site

Directi & HostFresh: Continued Cyber Crime Activity

Well it seems that Directi wasn't as sincere as they first indicated to rid themselves of association with cyber criminal activity.

Security researcher, developer and hpHosts owner Steven Burn has found a gang of scum as one of their customers.

As usual, he's gotten quite a bit of detail to support his findings.

Read all about it here.

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 2

Latest Security & News Info

• Managed Fast Flux Provider-Pt 2
• MS Takes Closer Look At AntivirusXP
• Firetrust: We'll Trade You For Security Software
• No F-1 Test For Danica
• Poll: How Big Is Your Hard Drive?

Latest News & Info From The Forums-Oct 1

Latest Security & News Info

• LinkedIn Spam Making Rounds
• Does ICANN Do All It Can?
• Researchers Warn On TCP/IP Weakness
• Estdomains Moved!
• It's National Cyber Security Awareness Month
• Google News Being Used To Redirect To Malware
• WinPatrol Developer Awarded MS MVP

MS & WAshington state Sueing 'Scareware' Vendors, PDF Exploits Rising, MS Latest Threats, New Bank Trojan & Intercage Knocked Out Again

Latest Security & News Info

• MS & Washington State Suing 'Scarware' Vendors
• PDF Exploits Rising
• New Trojan Grabs Bank Info
• Latest Threats From MS Malware Center
• Intercage On Again, Off Again, On Again, Now Off
• Protect Our Children Act Thru Senate
  

Latest Forum Links Sept 26

Latest Security & News Info

• Neosploit Hacker Tool Resurrected
• 250K Harvested Hotmail Accounts For $50
• New Rogue Twist...Forums?
• Cybergangs Survey Potential Bots
• Portfolio Of Rogues-Pt 6
• Help Us Pick Skins For The Forum
• Old Version Spybot Updates Discontinued
• 1000th User Coming Up In Forums

ISP Upgrades For Me....

Seems my ISP has decided to perform some sort of upgrade in my area so my access is liited until 5PM MST, or so they say. Thus, not much fresh news will get posted until later in the day.

Same goes with forum access as well. I'm at mom n dads now but will need to go run some errands and get Jr at school. If, after that, I still don't have access at home I'll come back here to mom n dads.

Sorry if you're not getting your news fixes today. I'll get thiings updated ASAP once I'm home and on my machine.

Todays News-Sept 22

Latest Security & News Info

• US Leads Cyber Attack Sources
• August: Record Number Of Viruses
• Atrivo: RIP? We Can only hope
• Report: 85% Of Malware Delivered Via web

RIP Atrivo?

Latest Security & News Info

• Atrivo: RIP? We Can Only Hope

Latest Forum Links Sept 18

Latest Security & News Info

• Directi Phish Site Up
• Notorious Crime forum Shuts Down
• Malware Researchers Against Authors
• Airline Scam Emails
• Storm Worm: Mobile Game?
• Top Celebs Used In Malware
• Estdomain Phish Attacks Coming?




Recent Forum Discussions

• Random Thoughts & Comments
• Congress Approves Computer Fraud Bill
• Windows 7 Ribbon-Based UI Platform

WinPatrol New Version Release-v15.9.2008

BillP has released the latest version of trustful WinPatrol, a must have on any system and something I've recommended for years. Everyone needs to have Scotty asking for approval and to contrl, things that start up with Windows.

Details in the forum link below
New Version Release: WinPatrol 15.9.2008

'ClickJacking', Malware Miscellany, Windows 7 News & Porn Second To Social Networking?

Latest Security & News Info

• 'Clickjacking' Threat Disclosure Deferred
• Viruslist Malware Miscellany-Aug
  

Recent Forum Discussions

• Info: Windows 7 Paint & Word Pad
• Windows 7 Coming Sooner Than Expected?
• Pr0n Second To Social Networking In Surfing

ATTN: Zone Alarm Users-Do Not Upgrade To v8!

Recent Forum Discussions

• Zone Alarm Users Warned Off Latest Version

Klikdonains Suspended, But Thriving, Web Hacks Still Trendy, Monthly Trend Labs Report, Berners-Lee Looks To The Future

Latest Security & News Info

• Report: Web Hacks Continue Thriving
• Klikdomains: Down But Not Out
• Trend Labs August Malware Report
• Berners-Lee, Father Of The Net Looks Forward

Busy Rogue Week

This last week has been one of the busiest for new rogues and new variants of existing rogues.

The IEDefender, Files Secure, Malware Bell, IE Antivirus, Total Secure 2000 family has been updated 5 times!

New rogues or just clones of another:

• XP Protector 2009-Antivirus XP 2008 clone
• Antispyware PRO XP
• MS Antivirus-new variant
• XP Antivirus transofrms to MS Antivirus then to Micro Antivirus
• Advanced Antivirus-related to Vista Antivirus 2008, Antispyware 2008 XP, System Antivirus 2008, Internet Antivirus, Smart Antivirus 2009
• Power Antivirus-family from Vista Antivirus 2008, Antispyware 2008 XP, System Antivirus 2008, Internet Antivirus, Smart Antivirus 2009, MS Antivirus, Advanced Antivirus

And of course we've had a bunch of new Zlob spewing sites as well.

It's good to see the bad guys are quickly making new variants as this indicates that the good guys are tracking them just as quickly. Bit of cat and mouse I suppose but with the recent fall out from the Brian Krebs Security Fix write ups, the cat seems to have sharpened it's claws a bit.

Zlob\Rogues [IEDefender-File Secure-Total Secure 09\Sept 13]

Klikdomains.com - Rogue Pusher Doubles As Registrar

Latest Security & News Info

• Rogue Pusher Klikdomains.com Doubles As Registrar

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware: Rogue Slayer

As most of you already know, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is developed by a group of our own. By that, I mean a dedicated group of malware fighters who have been active in malware research on all levels for many years. From source to delivery and everything in between.

They follow any and all leads to what ever end they find and report and then include their findings into MBAM's database to better hone the killer instincts that MBAM now has.

Over the last 48 hours I've installed:

• Internet Antivirus
• Antivirus XP 2008
• Total Secure 2009
• Antivirus Pro 2008

Without exception MBAM eradicated each and every file which was installed with ease.

Only requiring a reboot to delete a couple of stubborn ones.

And this has been my experience in several other threads with victims over at cexx as well.

Relentless pursuit has to be a mainstay of any anti-spyware product and this team of researchers demonstrate that each and every day with multiple definition updates and program upgrades regularly. Without keeping on top of the latest threats, an anti-spyware app can quickly become obsolete.

I don't see that happening anytime soon with the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware group.

I recommend you try them out. You won't be disappointed.

SpySweeper Update Breaks Profiles, Trojans Dominate Threats

Latest Security & News Info

• Trojans Dominate Top 10 Threats
• SpySweeper Update Borks User Profiles

Estdomains:Brian Krebs Looks Closer

EstDomains: A Superlative Scam and Spam Site Registrar

Weekend Reading-Sept 6

Latest Security & News Info

• Work At Home For A Criminal?
• AV-Test Latest Results
• Rock Phish Cyber Gang On Comeback?
• More Info On Atrivo\Directi\EstDomains
• MS Security Bulletin Advanced Notification

Scammers Find Way Around Detection, More PCs Infected w\Fake Apss

Latest Security & News Info

• Scammers Using Flash & Free Host Sites
• Increasing Amount Of PCs Infected w\Fake Security Apps

TeMerc Guide To Malware Forensics

I've written up a fairly small guide to malware forensics, be it pretty basic tho.
Didn't get into any sort of file analysis or code dissection.

It's just something for those looking to get into playing with malware to better understand it. How it spreads, infects a machine, how it displays symptoms and makes changes to the system.

Be sure you've got a machine to sacrifice as things can get pretty ugly and I've crushed my test machine a couple of times and had to reformat to get things back up and running.

Hope you enjoy it and please feel free to comment good, bad or whatever.

TeMerc Malware Forensics Instructional Guide

State Of Malware, Net Growth Slowing

Latest Security & News Info

• Fortinet Monthly State Of Malware
• Report:Internet Growth Slowing

Today's News & Info

Latest Security & News Info

• New Round Of Fake News Spam
• Phishing Awareness Up, Anti-Spyware Unused
• Vulnerability For New Google Browser
• YaHoo! Hosting Fraudware
• Zango & Batman Online Game
• TeMerc Gets A (Used) Laptop

SiteAdvisor Survey, Ocean Glow, TV Shows, Bad Guys Sane-Sec Comm Crazy?

Recent Forum Discussions

• Mysterious Ocean Glow Via Satellite Images
• Summer TV Hits & Shows TeMerc Watches In Fall
• Take SiteAdvisor Survey
• Security Community Is Crazy

Latest News & Info-Sept 2

Latest Security & News Info

• Gustav Website Fraud Watch
• Portfolio Of Rogues-Part 5
• Zombie Network Explosion
• Inside India CAPTCHA Solving Economy
• Rogue Banner Ads Updates

Recent Forum Discussions

• Google Launching Browser-Google Chrome
• New TeMerc Web Stats
• Random Thoughts & Comments

New Browser From Google-Google Chrome

Google plans to launch web browser-Google Chrome

Gustav Scam Domains Popping Up

Gustav Inspires Scammers w\Fake Domains

New IM Worm, Another Whitepaper On Net Scumbags

Latest Security & News Info

• New IM Worm Fully Operable
• Phantom Registrars, Fake Pharmacies, And Secret Infrastructure

SiteAdvisr News, Malware Via SWF Ads, Software Bloat, How Bad Is It?

Latest Security & News Info

• SiteAdvisor Fails To Keep Up With Malware Sites
• SiteAdvisor Sued Over Ratings
• swf Malware Thru ImageShack
• Software Bloat, Is It Really A Problem?

RBN Study:Atrivo Cyber Crime USA

Latest Security & News Info

• RBN: Atrivo-CyberCrime USA

Western Union Spam, XP SP3 Users Stuck w\IE 8?, Bank Upgrade Spam, Rogue Banner Ads, Window 7, IE8:Better Browsing, July 08 Malware Tops All 07

Latest Security & News Info

• Western Union Spam
• Rogue Banner Ads Updates
• More Malware Blocked In July 08 Than All 07
• Bank 'Upgrade' Phish\Spam




Recent Forum Discussions

• IE 8 Beta + XP SP3= You Keep IE8
• Why Adam Gets More Spam Than Eve
• Windows 7: Approach To Performance
• IE 8: Better Everyday Browsing

ASCII In Spam?, Malware In Adwords, Security Risk In A Question, New Genuine Nagware

Latest Security & News Info

• ASCII: New Spam Display Form?
• Why Can't Google Stop Malware In Adwords?
• 'Forgot Your Password' Security Risk?
• New Genuine Nagware Coming For XP Pro

Rogues, Zlob Sites, Banner Ads, Email Harvesting, IE Privacy, Phishers Target Teens

Latest Security & News Info

• Automated Email Harvesting Web 2.0
• Fake Porn Sites Serving Malware Pt 3
• Rogue Banner Ads Updates
• Phishers Target Teen Networks
• IE 8 Privacy & Blocking Cookies
• Latest Zlob Sites\Rogue Software

New Rogue-Andromeda AV, Stopbadware.org Stats, Rogue Sites-Part 4

Latest Security & News Info

• Stopbadware: Top Badware IPs & Netblocks
• Portfolio Of Rogues Part 4

Security Write Up By MysteryFCM

Latest Security & News Info

• HOSTS files, IP blacklists, toolbars - is it enough?

XP Antivirus 2008 Install Analysis, Top Emails You Clicked, Celeb Spam

Latest Security & News Info

• Anatomy Of A Rogue Scam
• Top Email Hoaxes You Clicked On
• Celebrity Spam-Off

New WebSite Rep\Rating Tool:Web Security Guard

New Web Site Review\Rating Tool: Web Security Guard

Viruslist July Stats, New IM Threat, Fake Celeb Sites=Malware, Vista & SP1, XP & XP3, Windows 7-Major Or Minor?

Latest Security & News Info

• Viruslist July Malware Miscellany
• New MSN IM Threat
• Fake Celeb Sites Spew Malware: Pt 2
• Vista Users Bum Rush SP1, XP Users Shun SP3
• Will Windows 7 Be a Major or Minor Release?

Fake Celeb Sites, Spyhunter Review, Redirects from adtrafficserv.com

Latest Security & News Info

• Fake Celeb Sites Spew Malware: Pt 2
• SpyHunter Reviewed By MysteryFCM
• Redirects To Malware From adtrafficserv.com

Rival Botnets Share Bond, Threat Spy Tracks Malware, Portfolio Of Rogues, Pt. 3, IE8 Ship Date, FTC Smacks Telemarketers, Red Light Cams Don't Work

Latest Security & News Info

• Rival Botnets Share Common Bond
• Threat Spy Tracks Malware
• Online Pharmacy Affiliates BUSTED!
• Portfolio Of Rogues: Part 3



Recent Forum Discussions

• Red Light Cams Don't Work
• IE 8 Shipping: Nov
• FTC Targets Pre-Recorded Telemarketers
  

WOT The F........

So there you are, a security vendor who uses some third party sources to supply security advice\ratings to be included in your product. Now, one would think that you would want said third party vendors to have something to offer which would aid in your product to be the best it can be.

Cost effectiveness can be one item, tho this is not always the case nor need it be.
Dependability comes to mind. What good is something if you can't rely on it? Not much.

Then there is always a matter of reliability, which when it comes right down to it, trumps the other two. If you can't trust them or the service\product they offer to be reliable, what's the point? In the end the one that suffers most is the end user.

Imagine now if you read the following, about a third party vendor, or rather all third party vendors who supply services to another product:

We don't consider our automated sources equally reliable

WOT Forums

If you don't trust them, why the hell are you using them? What sort of business uses resources\products\services it does not trust?Can you imagine if McAfee, Symantec or any other security vendor said that about someone who provided them such service?

Symantec just bought PCTools, do you think they trust them enough to improve the reliability of their product line? Ya, you betcha.

Did AVG trust Exploit Labs when they bought them out, with their LinkScanner tech? I'm sure they did.

Oh sure, maybe in this case there is no money exchanging hands, but to me at least, trust has a price on it that can't be calculated.

So, someone tell me how any security minded person can recommend a security tool from a company who gets something that is aided by third party vendors, when said security vendor does not trust the service it is geting from that third party?

Full thread:
Web Of Trust: How Trustful Is It?