After rebate, the $40 security solution from Panda, Panda Internet Security 2008, is available for free on Newegg. If users decide to acquire the product directly from its homepage, they have to pay the full price for it. This comes with some advantages too, since we are in the season of discounts and special offers, as these users will be offered, free of charge, an update to the 2009 version of the software, once its final version is released.

Panda Internet Security 2008 may be cheap or even free of charge, but this is also somehow reflected in its capabilities. According to a Softpedia review of the product, the Panda solution still needs some improvements, being rated 3 stars out of 5, which makes it fairly good, but not good enough for those who are looking for flawless protection against spam and other threats.

The features of the product include anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, firewall, backup, anti-spam, and parental control. Some of the problems were unveiled after a rapid check. The SafeDisk feature, which scans from a free environment, can detect malware, but cannot erase it, which implies additional effort on behalf of the users as they have to manually remove the malicious software. Also, the results of the scans are displayed in a window, but users are not given the possibility to interact with it. They are only able to see the report, but are forced to access different tools to actually remove the malware. Also, people who use Vista may encounter some problems related to the blocking of certain programs or devices.

These shortcomings aside, Panda Internet Security 2008 offers enough protection from spam and malware for some people to consider it their favorite security solution. Users can scan locations at will and they can choose which threats should be excluded from scan. Also, documents and Internet Explorer settings can be backed up and recovered, after the threat is removed.

The 2009 Beta update of the product was tested in the Softpedia labs and can be safely downloaded here.
By: Denisa Ilascu, Internet / SEO News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)
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Future Microsoft security products could make use of an additional operating system running on top of Windows in order to protect the underlying platform from malware. A new patent from the Redmond company titled: "System and method for proactive computer virus protection," authored by Adrian Marinescu was awarded on May 20, 2008, describing a solution that is a step forward from the reactive antivirus approach. Proactive technology is currently implemented into all modern top security products available on the market, and as such objections might be raised to Microsoft owning a patent.

However, the Redmond company's patent specifically refers to delivering a dispensable, virtualized operating environment designed to masquerade the actual operating system in order to simulate the execution of potentially malicious code and determining from the behavior whether it is malware or not. The virtualized operating system which would run on top of Windows would be completely isolated from the platform in case the simulated executable is actually malware.

"In accordance with the invention, a virtual operating environment for simulating the execution of programs to determine if the programs are malware is created. The virtual operating environment confines potential malware so that the systems of the host operating environment will not be adversely effected during simulation. As a program is being simulated, a set of behavior signatures is generated. The collected behavior signatures are suitable for analysis to determine if the program is malware," is explained in the description of the invention.

Microsoft has failed to inform whether the solution is a standalone product or integrated into its security offerings. The system described in the patent is tailored to Win 32 operating systems, but according to Microsoft, it can be easily extended onto other platforms which also make API calls. There are, of course, two major issues with this patent. First, members of the security market are bound to object to Microsoft owning a patent on proactive detection. Second, modern malware authors generally take precautions in writing malicious code that checks whether it is running in a virtualized operating.

"Components of the virtual operating environment include an interface, a virtual processing unit, API handling routines, an Input/Output emulator, a loader, a stack data structure, and a memory management unit that manages a virtual address space. These components perform operations similar to a real operating system that receives API calls including but not limited to generating events so that stub DLLs may be loaded into memory, employing a memory management unit to map physical locations in memory to a virtual address space, and allowing potential malware to generate Input/Output (hereinafter 'I/O') when making API calls. The present invention generates computer-executable instructions that are only capable of being filtered by the provided virtual operating environment," reads an excerpt of the patent.

Source: news.softpedia.com

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Fake Windows XP Security Center in the Wild - Beware of Adware/XP-Shield
Back in the past, we saw a huge number of rogue anti-spyware technology which did nothing than to misinform users and trick them into buying unneeded security solutions. Today, a similar scam has been reported by security company Panda Software but, in comparison with the previous attacks, this one relies on a Windows function closely related to security. The Adware/XP-Shield poses as a Windows security center which usually informs you about the status of the security applications on the Windows workstations.

However, this piece of malware misinforms users that their computers are infected and, just like many other rogue anti-spyware products, it asks them to buy a certain security product. Only that buying the product does nothing to the computer because all the attackers want is to actually steal your money.

Once installed on the computer, the malware displays pop-up windows every once in a while, notifying users about the existence of an infection. If the user chooses to continue "unprotected", the application stays in the background and minimizes the window to System Tray.

"It is possible that while we are visiting different websites, several popups are displayed informing us that our system is infected or that our computer is not working properly and in order to solve these problems they recommend us to purchase a certain program. Be careful with this type of software, which will not really solve the problem and will make you lose money," it is mentioned in the Panda Software security advisory.

The malware can be easily identified by the name of the executable files, XPShieldSetup.exe, and by the fact that it drops a shortcut on the Desktop and in the Start menu. The infection only affected the Windows machines, including here Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows ME and Windows 98.


Source: news.softpedia.com

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Yahoo Messenger 9 is expected to bring a totally new chating experience to all its fans out there and the Sunnyvale company really struggles to reach this goal.
Following the recent implementation of several new functions (embeddable clips displayed straight into the YM window, new contact list and others), the folks at Yahoo rolled out a brand new security function of the Yahoo Messenger users: automatic file scanning for consumers of Norton Antivirus 2007/2008 and Norton Internet Security 2007/2008, all of them for the Windows operating system.

The interoperability means that every time a user who installed one of the mentioned Symantec software solutions receives a file on Yahoo Messenger, it is automatically scanned in the background and, in case there's something dangerous, the access/execution is blocked. With a continuously growing number of computer infections attempting to spread themselves on instant messengers, this function should be expanded to other security vendors in order to protect a wider segment of users.

Please note that this auto-scanning functions only works with Norton Antivirus 2007/2008 or Norton Internet Security 2007/2008 and Yahoo Messenger 9.0.0.222 Beta or above.

"Chat is a great way to spontaneously get photos or other files from friends and family. It’s also an easy way to inadvertently get a virus or spyware onto your computer. Yahoo engineered Yahoo IM 9.0 with special antivirus integration capabilities. Symantec responded immediately by partnering with Yahoo to deliver a new, tighter level of integration between Yahoo IM 9.0 and Norton Internet Security 2007/2008 and Norton AntiVirus 2007/2008. Norton is the first and only antivirus software to take advantage of this new feature of Yahoo IM," the official page of the Symantec/Yahoo Messenger deal reads.

Source: news.softpedia.com

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