Third-party security researchers reported that they found a vulnerability in both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 Release 2. The said bug exists in the handling of Server Message Block (SMB) packets and can allow malicious users to remotely crash systems if a malformed packet is received by the target system. The crash does not lead to the infamous blue screen of death, however. It merely renders the system unresponsive. Older versions of Windows (e.g., Windows Vista) are not affected by ...

Cybercriminals are using compromised Twitter accounts to spam out information-gathering websites to unknowing users. The attack starts with compromised Twitter accounts. The accounts are used to send out Direct Messages to the followers of the users who own the compromised accounts. The Direct Message—which is basically the Twitter counterpart of a private message—contains a link to what looks like an IQ test website: An IQ test may seem harmless but the last thing asked for in the test is no longer an answer ...

Trend Micro threat analysts recently discovered a phishing attack targeting the website of the Capita Group. The said site is dedicated for the company shareholders’ use. It aims to reduce the need for paperwork and provides 24 hour access for greater convenience. The fake Web portal asks users to enter their surname, shareholder reference number, postal code, telephone number, date of birth, and employer. After entering the said information, the page will redirect them to another login page that requires them to enter their account information—first name, middle name, last name, address, city, ...

Microsoft released six security bulletins to fix 15 vulnerabilities in this month’s Patch Tuesday. Three of these security advisories (MSO9-063, MS09-064, MS09-65) are considered “critical” while the other three have been dubbed “important.” MS09-067 deals with eight security holes plaguing Microsoft Excel that when successfully exploited can allow remote code execution when users open a specially crafted .XLS file. Users are thus strongly advised to update their systems as soon as possible, as these vulnerabilities (especially those rated “critical”) can be used by cybercriminals to execute worms and ...

The Koobface botnet has pushed out a new component that automates the following routines: Registering a Facebook account Confirming an email address in Gmail to activate the registered Facebook account Joining random Facebook groups Adding Facebook friends Posting messages to Facebook friends’ walls Overall, this new component behaves like a regular Internet user that starts to connect with friends in Facebook. All Facebook accounts registered by this component are comparable to a regular account made by a human. The details provided about the account are complete ...