Report

Windows 7 turns one year old and obviously Microsoft felt the need to once again brag with the performance of its latest operating system. And it can really brag as Windows 7 has sold 240 million licenses to date and is, hands down, the fastest selling OS in history. In September no less than 93% of all consumer PCs come pre-loaded with Windows 7, while on October 1st the OS’ global market share was measured at 17%, putting it on second place behind the immortal Windows XP. ...

Follow up from: Panda security launches Panda Antivirus The number of Mac OS vulnerabilities has quintupled in less than a year. In 2009, 34 vulnerabilities were detected for Mac OS. So far in 2010, this number has risen to 175 vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the platform can also be affected by 170,000 macro viruses for Windows and there are 5,000 classified strains of malware that specifically target Apple systems, according to Panda Security. ...

Clever: Inspector Richard Haycock told local newspapers that the possible use of the car lock jammers would help explain a recent spate of thefts from vehicles that have occurred without leaving any signs of forced entry. “We do get quite a lot of car crime in the borough where there’s no sign of a break-in and items have been taken from an owner’s car,” Inspector Haycock said. “It’s difficult to get in to a modern car without causing damage and we get a reasonable amount of people who do not report any. ...

I was reading an article on PCWorld’s website about the upcoming Google Chrome OS: So far so good. Except that I inadvertently clicked on one of their sponsored links: which ironically states “Here is all about spyware removal and even more.” After a few redirects, my browser is hijacked by one of those FakeAV scanners: Here is the HTTP traffic capture screenshot and log: ...

An Arizona computer specialist has admitted taking part in a conspiracy that used large networks of compromised computers to inflate the value of stocks so they could later be sold at a profit. James Bragg, 41, of Chandler, Arizona, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and fraud, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. It wasn’t immediately clear when sentencing is to take place. ...

A German source is signaling that those who haven’t downloaded FaceTime for Mac just yet may want to hold back on the desire to video chat with their iPhone-wielding friends, as there may be some serious security risks involved. During yesterday’s Back to the Mac special event held in Cupertino, California, Apple’s CEO confirmed the availability of FaceTime for Mac. The application effectively enables anyone with a mac running Snow Leopard to use their computer’s iSight camera and mic to talk to their iPhone, iPod touch-equipped friends. ...

A federal judge in New Jersey has cleared the way for a landmark criminal case targeting CAPTCHA circumvention to proceed to trial. The case targets a ring of defendants who used various means to bypass CAPTCHA — the squiggly letters and numbers websites display to prove a visitor is human — in order to automatically purchase thousands of tickets from online vendors and resell them to premium customers. The defendants have been charged with wire fraud and with violating the anti-hacking Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, in an elaborate scheme that allegedly used a network of bots and other deceptive means to bypass CAPTCHA and grab more than 1 million tickets for concerts and sporting events. They made more than $25 million in profits from the resale of the tickets between 2002 and 2009. ...

This isn’t good: Intelligent Integration Systems (IISi), a small Boston-based software development firm, alleges that their Geospatial Toolkit and Extended SQL Toolkit were pirated by Massachusetts-based Netezza for use by a government client. Subsequent evidence and court proceedings revealed that the “government client” seeking assistance with Predator drones was none other than the Central Intelligence Agency. IISi is seeking an injunction that would halt the use of their two toolkits by Netezza for three years. Most importantly, IISi alleges in court papers that Netezza used a “hack” version of their software with incomplete targeting functionality in response to rushed CIA deadlines. As a result, Predator drones could be missing their targets by as much as 40 feet. ...

Apple is cashing in on the popularity of its iPhone and iPad to boost demand for its oldest product, the Macintosh. The company launched a revamped MacBook Air at an event dubbed “Back to the Mac” at its Cupertino headquarters. The computer is seen as a marriage of what Apple has learned from desktop computing and mobile devices. Like the iPad, the Air will have no hard drive and rely on flash memory. ...

Kaspersky Lab now admits that people attempting to buy Kaspersky’s security products on Oct. 17 were redirected by hackers to a scareware site with links to fake antivirus software called Security Tool. Hackers have caused serious embarrassment for a major security technology company. Kaspersky Lab’s Website was hacked over the weekend, sending customers looking for security software to an external download page pushing counterfeit software. When users tried to download software from Kaspersky on Oct. 17, they were redirected to a malware site that tricked users into downloading fake antivirus software called Security Tool. Once executed, Security Tool displays pop-ups reporting a number of vulnerabilities and threats “found” to scare users into buying what it says is a full version in order to fix these problems. ...