Latest security headlines from the Internet.
(Updated 03/01/2010)

03/01/2010 - New zero-day involves IE, puts Windows XP users at risk Microsoft investigates unpatched flaw that affects users running IE7 and IE8 (Read full dispatch...)

02/26/2010 - Leaked Microsoft intelligence document: Here's what Microsoft will reveal to police about you I've got my hands on a copy of the leaked, confidential Microsoft "Global Criminal Compliance Handbook," which details for police and intelligence services exactly what information Microsoft collects about users of its online services, and how they can be accessed. What is gathered and available about you is quite comprehensive, including your emails, detailed information about when you sign in and use the services, credit card information, and so on. (Read full dispatch...)

02/24/2010 - IT Management: 10 Products Microsoft Can Use to Retain Its Market Power Although companies like Google and Apple get most of the attention in the tech industry, Microsoft still reigns supreme. The company's Windows operating system is being used on the vast majority of computers running around the world. (Read full dispatch...)

02/23/2010 - 30 Useful (and Unknown) Web Apps You Need to Bookmark At Maximum PC, computer hardware is our bread and butter. We review it, preview it, and just generally love to talk about it. Unfortunately, hardware becomes less important with each passing day, as more and more software moves onto the internet. We're not looking forward to the day that our PC's become Chrome OS-style thin client, but we have to admit, some web apps are pretty awesome. (Read full dispatch...)

02/18/2010 - Virus has breached 75,000 computers: study Reuters) – A new type of computer virus is known to have breached almost 75,000 computers in 2,500 organizations around the world, including user accounts of popular social network websites, according Internet security firm NetWitness. (Read full dispatch...)

02/17/2010 - Security bug opens Google Buzz to hackers The cross-site scripting flaw was discovered by the same person who hacked Miley Cyrus' e-mail (Read full dispatch...)

02/17/2010 - Rogue PDFs account for 80% of all exploits, says researcher Adobe's Reader wins 2009 hacker honors by a landslide, says ScanSafe (Read full dispatch...)

02/11/2010 - Windows patch cripples XP with blue screen, users claim Angry customers blame MS10-015 for Blue Screen of Death, XP reboot hell (Read full dispatch...)

02/10/2010 - Microsoft fixes 26 security holes, warns on unpatched multi-vendor SSL vulnerability Patch Tuesday whopper is full of surprises, including first Hyper-V-specific patch (Read full dispatch...)

02/09/2010 - Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for February 2010 This bulletin summary lists security bulletins released for February 2010.

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02/04/2010 - Researcher reveals how IE flaw can turn your PC into a public file server n a live demonstration Wednesday at the Black Hat DC conference, a security consultant showed how it's possible to exploit a flaw in the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser to remotely read files on the victim's local drive, prompting a security advisory from Microsoft. (Read full dispatch...)

01/21/2010 - Microsoft Security Advisory (979352) Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution (Read full dispatch...)

01/19/2010 - Microsoft promises emergency IE patch It's mum on when rush fix will arrive, plans to reveal delivery date on Wednesday (Read full dispatch...)

01/19/2010 - McAfee Says Cyber-attack Details Point to IE Security Vulnerability Updated: Security vendor McAfee is reporting that the cyber-attack that hit more than 30 businesses, including Google and Adobe Systems, involved the use of a zero-day exploit targeting Internet Explorer. (Read full dispatch...)

01/13/2010 - Google attack part of widespread spying effort Analysts see Google's threat to leave China as a public admission that corporate espionage is troubling US businesses (Read full dispatch...)

01/12/2010 - Skip Microsoft's critical patch, focus on Adobe's, experts urge PDF patches due later today more important than lone fix from Microsoft (Read full dispatch...)

01/12/2010 - Microsoft IE's downfall 'far fetched,' says researcher Lock on enterprise ensures long life for IE; Firefox in danger of being replaced by Chrome (Read full dispatch...)

01/12/2010 - Microsoft apologizes for, but doesn't really fix, software validation snafu Problems with the volume licensing server have left some customers unable to use their apps for more than a month (Read full dispatch...)

01/08/2010 - Google applies to become electricity marketer The company has created a subsidiary called Google Energy to address the issue of the search giant's power consumption (Read full dispatch...)

01/08/2010 - Large-scale attacks exploit unpatched PDF bug A week before Adobe is scheduled to patch a critical vulnerability in its popular PDF software, hackers are actively exploiting the bug with both targeted and large-scale attacks, a security researcher said today. (Read full dispatch...)

12/09/2009 - Microsoft downplays Windows BitLocker attack threat Microsoft says research spelling out multiple attack scenarios to access files protected by BitLocker presents a relatively low security risk to users (Read full dispatch...)

12/09/2009 - Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for December 2009 This bulletin summary lists security bulletins released for December 2009.

With the release of the bulletins for December 2009, this bulletin summary replaces the bulletin advance notification originally issued December 3, 2009. For more information about the bulletin advance notification service, see Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification. (Read full dispatch...)

12/02/2009 - Microsoft denies blame for 'black screens of death' Not connected to November's updates, not a support issue, says firm (Read full dispatch...)

Security Glossary

Authentication Establishing the identity of a user for secure e-commerce transactions and virtual private networking.

Broadband A term used to describe any high-speed network that can carry multiple services on the same line, such as data, voice, and video. DSL and cable are broadband.

Content Filtering A content filter allows schools, businesses, and other organizations to set and enforce Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) governing what materials can and cannot be accessed on the organization’s computers.

Digital Certificates Best method for establishing user identities for e-commerce and virtual private networking.

DoS Denial of Service. A hacker attack designed to disable a server or network by bombarding it with service requests, which prevents legitimate users from accessing the network resource.

DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. A protocol that allows IP addressing information to be dynamically assigned by a server to clients on an as-needed basis. IP addresses for the network are stored in a pool of available IP addresses, which are allocated when a computer on the network boots up. The DHCP server functionality is incorporated into routers and works in conjunction with NAT (Network Address Translation).

DNS Domain Name System. The name resolution service for IP addresses that provides the friendlier text based addressing used for Internet resources, such as www.sonicwall.com

DSL Digital Subscriber Line. The generic term that refers to the underlying technology inherent in all flavors of DSL, such as ADSL, SDSL, or ISDL.

Firewall A security device that controls access from the Internet to a local network by using information associated with TCP/IP packets to make decisions about whether to allow or deny access.

ICSA International Computer Security Association. The worldwide leader in security assurance services. ICSA operates the security industry’s product testing and certification body, ICSA Labs.

IP Internet Protocol. The network protocol that forms the basis of the networking functions of the TCP/IP, which is the basis of the Internet.

IPSec Internet Protocol Security. A robust VPN standard that covers authentication and encryption of data traffic over the Internet.

LAN Local Area Network. A data network that connects computers in an area usually within the confines of an office or building. A LAN enables users to share information and network resources, such as a printer or a broadband connection.

NAT Network Address Translation. An Internet standard that allows your local area network to use private IP addresses, which are not recognized on the Internet. The IP address used for the router is the only routable IP address. Computers behind NAT can access the Internet through the router but Internet users can’t access the computers behind the router.

Packet A unit of information that is sent across a packet-switching network, such as the Internet. A data packet contains addressing information, error checking, and user information in addition to the application data.

Proxy Server Session-level firewall that examine the data within IP packets to verify their authenticity. A proxy server accepts or rejects data traffic based on the entire set of IP packets associated with an entire application session to the same IP address. This upper level examination, however, causes significant performance degradation on your Internet connection. Proxy servers require a server and client software on each computer on the LAN.

Packet Filtering Typically implemented on routers, packet filters examine the individual data packets passing across the router. Examining data passing to and from a network, packet filters use rules to block access according to information located in each packet: the IP port number for which data is intended, source or destination address, or data type. A packet filter firewall is complex to set up and maintain and is vulnerable to IP spoofing and other security threats.

Router A device that routes data between networks through IP addressing information contained in data packets. A router forwards packets to other routers until packets reach their destination.

Stateful Packet Inspection Stateful packet inspection firewalls are based on advanced packet-filtering technology that is transparent to users on the LAN, requires no client configuration, and secures the widest array of IP protocols. Stateful Packet Inspection is also well suited to protect networks against the growing threat of Denial of Service attacks. Many network security experts recommend Stateful Packet Inspection as the most trusted firewall technology.

Virus Malicious software programs that attach themselves to applications and files in memory or on disks are a leading security threat to Internet-connected networks. Destructive viral code can infect networked PCs through E-mail attachments, web content or infected files.

VPN Virtual Private Network A way that private data can safely pass over a public network, such as the Internet. The data traveling between two hosts is encrypted for privacy along with other security features.