WebProNews

Security A Concern For Online Holiday Shoppers

As Americans prepare for the holiday shopping season, online security plays a major part in consumers' purchasing decision, according to a new poll by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Symantec. More than half (63%) of online shoppers said they did not complete a purchase because of security concerns. The most common reasons for not making an online purchase include:

Spam is Getting More Malicious

Symantec has released two new reports for the month of November - the State of Spam, and the State of Phishing (both PDFs). The reports highlight a dramatic increase in spam that contains malware. On top of that, junk and malicious email now accounts for close to 9 out of 10 email messages.

Beware the Emails of Halloween

Symantec's MessageLabs released its Intelligence Report for the month of October, and it reveals the that the spammers behind the biggest botnets – Cutwail, Rustock and Donbot – are using the upcoming major holidays and world events as the themes for their the latest spam runs. This is not particularly surprising news, but it is news that people should be aware of nevertheless.

Earthquake and Tsunami Searchers Targeted By Malware

You have probably heard about the Indonesian Earthquake that took place last night, claiming the lives of many. Shameless cybercriminals have not wasted anytime exploiting the disaster targeting people around the world who search for information on the subject.

Top 10 Most Spammed States in the US

Symantec's MessageLabs revealed a list of the most spammed states in the US today, with some somewhat surprising results. And the award for state that receives the most spam is...Idaho.

Phishing Down, But Probably Only Temporarily

Spam is rising as we get closer to the Christmas holiday season according to Symantec, although they do say that phishing is down. The company has shared some findings from its September State of Phishing report. According to the report, there was a 45% reduction in phishing attacks between July and August. Symantec says this will likely be a short-term lull, however, reflecting the end of a particular toolkit attack on social networking sites.

Short URL Spam a Big Threat in August

Spammers are taking particular advantage of the heightened interest in health-related issues like swine flu and healthcare reform to distribute large shortened-URL spam runs using the Donbot botnet, according to Symantec's MessageLabs.

What Kids Are Searching For Online

The most popular search terms kids are searching for include sites like YouTube, eBay and Craigslist, as well as social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, according to a new report from Symantec. The words "sex" and "porn" also made it to the top, ranking number four and six respectively. Number nine on the list was "fred", for Fred Figglehorn, popular fictional character whose YouTube channel has become a hit among kids.

Malicious Content Found More on Well Established Sites

MessageLabs Intelligence released some new  information today indicating that the assumption that most web-based malware resides on fly-by-night websites touting adult content, is an "old-fashioned notion." Instead, a MessageLabs (part of Symantec) spokesperson tells WebProNews that cybercriminals are more likely to be hiding on legitimate web sites tha have been compromised. Data from the week of May 5th shows that:

Symantec Launches Online Safety Service For Parents And Kids

Symantec has officially launched OnlineFamily.Norton, an Internet safety service designed to help parents monitor their children's online activity. The launch coincides with the start of Internet Safety Week, which began today. The service is available for free until January1, 2010.