Online virus scanning
One of the first things many modern viruses do is circumvent the protection offered by popular anti-virus programs such as Norton or Mcaffee. It is a good idea to run one of the folowing free virus scanners periodically to clean up anything that may have wormed it's way in.
You can scan your computer for free using Trend Micro's Housecall
Prevention
One of the best things you can do to avoid viruses is frequently update your computer using windows update.
The low-down on new viruses
20 Aug 2008 Mal/Behav-296
20 Aug 2008 Mal/EncPk-ES
20 Aug 2008 Troj/Agent-HLS
20 Aug 2008 Troj/Buzus-M
20 Aug 2008 Troj/Dloadr-BQN
20 Aug 2008 Troj/Drop-AD
20 Aug 2008 Troj/Drop-AM
20 Aug 2008 Troj/FakeAV-BS
20 Aug 2008 Troj/FakeAV-BT
20 Aug 2008 W32/AutoRun-HU
General Virus News
Cisco patches WebEx Meeting Manager
With Microsoft's monster Patch Tuesday now behind us, today's alerts seem light by comparison. WebEx power users will want to make sure they're using the latest update of WebEx Meeting Manager as previous versions contain a flaw that could result in malicious code running on the machine. Also, the peer-to-peer client uTorrent has a major update that fixes some serious flaws. And, VMWare's CEO is apologizing for last week's minor spot of bother with his company's software that left customers unable to log in.
Anti-Georgia spammers building new botnet
Hackers targeting Georgia in the midst of its conflict with Russia have started sending out a new batch of malicious spam messages, apparently with the aim of building a new botnet network of remote-controlled computers.
Taco Bueno taps ConSentry for more than switching
When restaurant chain Taco Bueno ran out of access ports it decided to buy ConSentry switches in part because they helped fill security and access control needs that other switches couldn't.
Kernel space: Virus scanning API spawns security debate
Should Linux include a virus scanning layer? Kernel developers debate the best way to protect virus-vulnerable OSs from malware stored on a Linux server.
How we tested Palo Alto's PA-4020 firewall
We spent two weeks putting the Palo Alto Networks PA-4020 through a series of tests designed to measure its capabilities. During our testing, the PA-4020 was connected to the Internet and was able to download virus, threat, and URL filtering updates. We also updated the software on the PA-4020 once during the test, from 2.0.1 to 2.0.3. We did encounter problems during the update, and had to have Palo Alto's technical support team apply fixes to our configuration to make it compatible with the new software version.
UTM – the buzzword Palo Alto won't cop to
The PA-4020 is indeed a unified threat management firewall, even if Palo Alto Networks would like to pretend it isn't. Because it's a firewall with integrated VPN, intrusion prevention and detection, URL filtering, anti-virus/anti-spyware, and file blocking, the PA-4020 fits squarely into the definition of a UTM firewall.
Internet security moves to the cloud
A start-up that dishes up an in-the-cloud security service says it also eliminates capital outlay for security gear and reduces ongoing support costs.
Kenya government increases spending on IT security
Increased technology awareness within the Kenyan government has led to increased spending on IT security, said James Kinyua, managing director of Isolutions Associates, the local partner of Kaspersky Lab.
Dog Days of Summer
Hackers and cybercriminals must have taken the weekend off as things are slow today, or they're just gearing up for next week's Black Hat conference. If you're a Thunderbird user, a new update is avaialble that fixes nine flaws. Also, Debian and Mandriva have a smattering of patches available. Enjoy the lull, it won't last.
ZyXEL revamps its security family
ZyXEL Communications is upgrading its unified threat management gear for small and midsize businesses with a new line of multi-function boxes that add VPN support and failover.