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Posts Tagged ‘Kaspersky’

Kaspersky defeats Zango in court

Kaspersky Lab has secured a legal victory against infamous adware firm Zango in a ruling that will do much to prevent the Internet’s pests from dumping bogus lawsuits on the doorstep of security firms.

Zango has been lambasted on numerous occasions for its spyware-like behavior, most notably on StopBadware which outlines several behaviors which any reasonable person will recognize as spyware:

  • Behaves as spyware (Transmits private info)
  • Bundled software cannot be closed (Interferes with computer use)
  • Automatically runs on startup (Interferes with computer use)
  • Installs adware (Potentially deceptive installation)
  • Displays pop-up advertisements (Interferes with computer use)
  • Modifies Internet Explorer (Modifies other software)

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OpenDNS hopes to track, block Conficker

Potentially the most crippling malware thus far conceived, the Conficker worm has infected 10 million PCs to date. Each PC polls 250 random domains each day in search of a malware payload that has yet to appear. Should a payload be released to one of the domains, the PCs will download and install the package to create the biggest bot or spam net in history. OpenDNS and Kaspersky hope to stem the tide before it forms.

The OpenDNS service is using a growing list of domains that security firm Kaspersky has developed after reverse engineering the worm. Administrators running OpenDNS on their network will be alerted to infected PCs and partially protected against infected clients connecting to one of the domains that may contain a payload.

The service will also help network admins to quickly pinpoint any infected machines by checking their OpenDNS Dashboard. Starting Monday, any networks with PCs that try to connect to the Conficker addresses will be flagged on an admin’s private statistics page. The service is available for free to both businesses and home users.

“The idea of blocking things on the network and doing it for consumers is a big change,” said OpenDNS CTO David Ulevitch. “Overall, we think we’re uniquely positioned to do this.”

Let’s hope that preventative maintenance can make a difference, because Conficker could have devastating consequences if activated.

Kaspersky for Windows 7 trial

We just received a tip informing us that Kaspersky has made a preview version of their popular anti-virus application available to you Windows 7 guinea pigs.

At the heart of the new technical prototype is Kaspersky Lab’s new antivirus engine which is even more effective at detecting malicious programs than its predecessor. The new engine dramatically increases system scanning speed thanks to improved processing of objects and optimized use of system resources, particularly on dual- and quad-core processor platforms. The unique product architecture ensures high productivity and one of the lowest uses of system resources in the industry.

The installed app uses a very respectable 40MB of memory, and stunned us with fast scanning times. So if your interest lies in curiosity or security, you can pop over here and give it a go.

Do you like it? What are your thoughts? Sound off in our comments section!