rootkit posts

Filed under: Security, Windows, Commercial, Freeware, Beta, Windows x64

Avast 5 coming in October, beta testing in two weeks

by Lee Mathews Jul 21st 2009

It's been quite a while since the crew at Avast released a major version, so this news should be very welcome to its 80 million + users. Version 5 is slated for release this October, and beta testing will begin in just a couple weeks.

What's new? For starters, the interface has received some obvious TLC - gone is the option of switching between the simple and enhanced UIs. Under the hood, Avast 5 now supports heuristics and will feature an improved and optimized detection engine. From the official blog post, "It may sound like a cliché, but it's a fact: the new engine can detect more viruses, while actually consuming less resources."

Version 5 also boasts detection of PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) and a new code emulator that is better able to detect unknown malware packers. Avast has also tuned the program to minimize impact on startup and shutdown times.

Paid versions include a virtualization component as well, likely similar to the one used by Sunbelt in Vipre. As you can see in the screenshot, the new version of the Internet Security suite will also include a firewall and anti-spam module.

Here's some great news for current Avast users: the upgrade to version 5 will be free to anyone with a valid license. When was the last time you saw the big guys (Norton, McAfee) offering that?

Tags: antivirus, avast, free, malware, rootkit, security, spyware, trojan

Filed under: Security, Windows, Microsoft, Freeware, Beta, Windows x64

Microsoft Security Essentials tested, passes with flying colors

by Lee Mathews Jun 26th 2009

Regular Download Squad readers already know that I've been testing Microsoft's new Security Essentials since it first appeared in the wild last week and that I've been quite impressed with it so far. Some commenters weren't impressed, however, waving the NOD32 flag even though SE removed threats from my machine that NOD had missed.

AV-Test Labs has now put SE through a slightly more grueling test than scanning my piddly PC. They threw 3,200 different bots, trojans, and viruses along with a slew of items designed to trigger false positives and Security Essentials was up for the task.

In an email to Computerworld, Andreas Marx of AV-Test reported "All files were properly detected and treated by the product," said Marx in an e-mail. "That's good, as several other [antivirus] scanners are still not able to detect and kill all of these critters yet. None of the clean files were noted as malicious." The program was also able to tackle rootkits, though AV-Test will put it through more comprehensive testing before making a verdict on that particular ability.

Marx also addressed the concerns that SE was using Microsoft's own servers for cloud-based scanning. "The scanner works with the locally-installed anti-virus and anti-spyware databases -- it doesn't appear to use 'in-the-cloud scanning' methods," he stated.

If you missed out on the original download from Microsoft, don't fret. The nice folks at Softpedia have mirrored the SE files for you.

Tags: antivirus, malware, microsoft-security-essentials, morro, rootkit, virus

Filed under: Security, Utilities, Windows, Microsoft

Microsoft's malware fix: nuke your drive

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Apr 4th 2006

I made the switch to the Microsoft Anti-Spyware app, now called Windows Defender, and haven't looked back. The latest major change has turned the tool into an invaluable one on my machine. But Defender can't do it all. In fact, we all know that rootkits, spyware, and badware in general could crud up our computers at any point, right? Well MS is cogniscent of this, and has a real fix: wipe your drive, and reinstall. Yep, that's it! Billions of bucks in R&D can't be wrong kids, it only takes a giant magnet and some extra time to be free from malware. Oh, and a terrific backup scheme... Who says this? According to the story on eWeek, Mike Danseglio, program manager in the Security Solutions group at Microsoft. The choice quote from Mike is, "When you are dealing with rootkits and some advanced spyware programs, the only solution is to rebuild from scratch. In some cases, there really is no way to recover without nuking the systems from orbit." Mike goes on to explain some malware is just "way too hard" to remove, thus requiring a total wipe and reinstall. They had to do this with a certain unnamed government branch, wiping and restoring 2,000 machines. The good news is, with rootkit attacks on XP SP2 on the rise, all you fixit types, IT guys, and family computer monkeys will have job security at least until Vista ships sometime in the not too distant future... Huzzah!

Tags: defender, malware, rootkit, spyware, windows defender, WindowsDefender, xp

Filed under: Features

Top 10 Web Moments of 2005

by Jordan Running Dec 31st 2005

In December 1990 there was a single web site on the Internet, and by the end of 1991 that figured had jumped to ten. Today there are millions of sites and billions of pages, and the web is a universe unto itself. It's impossible for any one person to keep track of even one percent of the interesting stuff happening on the web, but still we try until our favorites folders are overflowing, our social bookmark sites crash, and our inboxes choke on forwarded links. Occasionally, though, all of that collective interest organizes itself into something more orderly and, for a moment, it seems like everyone on the web is thinking about the same thing. Below are ten moments from the past year that the people who make the web found coolest, most interesting, funniest, and most throught-provoking.

10. Numa Numa Dance

What do you get when you combine a Romanian chart-topper, an American teenager, and a webcam? The Numa Numa Dance. New Jersey 19-year-old Gary Brolsma found Internet fame when he not only lip-synched, but did a slick choreographed routine—albeit without leaving his chair—to "Dragostea Din Tei," a dance track by Romanian pop trio O-Zone.

Though Brolsma ultimately shunned his fame, his performance is among the most-linked, forwarded, and immitated videos of the the year, even earning him a profile in the New York Times.

Tags: 2005, Andy Samberg, aol, aol music, Bobby Henderson, bush, carson williams, Chris Parnell, christmas lights, chronicles of narnia, drm, flying spaghetti monster, FlyingSpaghettiMonster, fsm, g8, george bush doesn't care about black people, gold digger, google, hurricane katrina, HurricaneKatrina, interdictor, kanye west, KanyeWest, katrina, law, lazy sunday, LazySunday, list, live 8, Live8, livejournal, lonely island, microsoft, mike myers, mtv, music, myspace, new york times, numa numa, numa numa dance, NumaNuma, politics, race, red cross, rootkit, samy, samy is my hero, saturday night live, security, snl, sony, sony bmg, top 10, Top10, trans-siberian orchestra, wizards in winter, xcp, yahoo

Filed under: Security

Sony settles in rootkit class action suit

by Jordan Running Dec 30th 2005

Sony BMG has proposed a settlement in the class action lawsuit concerning the XCP rootkit that many of its music CDs were installing on users' computers without their permission. If passed, the settlement would have Sony recalling all XCP CDs and replace them with non-DRM CDs, plus ensuring that all XCP CDs are "promptly removed from the market" by offering owners incentives in the form of three free downloaded albums or $7.50 in cash. Sony will not be recalling CDs with MediaMax DRM, which also installs itself on consumers' computers without asking permission, but they're offering to give owners of those CDs DRM-free MP3s of the CDs' contents, plus free download of one album. I'd have loved to see this make it to court, but it was pretty much a given that it would end in a settlement. Hopefully, though, the rest of the record industry will take notice that consumers aren't kidding around anymore about invasive DRM.

Tags: class action, drm, fiasco, law, mediamax, rootkit, settlement, sony, xcp

Filed under: Internet

2005's file-sharing winners and losers

by Jordan Running Dec 26th 2005

Slyck News has put together a list of their picks for the biggest winners and losers in file-sharing for 2005. File sharing's winners? BitTorrent, Apple, LimeWire, The Pirate Bay, and open source. The losers? Sony-BMG, Kazaa owners Sharman Networks, Grokster, pay P2P, and, of course, perennial loser the RIAA. I'd personally add to the winners list Fiona Apple, whose new album, which is being acclaimed as one of the year's best, would never have seen a release this year without the attention its P2P leak garnered.

Tags: 2005, apple, bittorrent, file sharing, fiona apple, FionaApple, grokster, kazaa, limewire, list, p2p, piracy, riaa, rootkit, sharman, sony, the pirate bay, ThePirateBay

Filed under: Security, Windows

Lavasoft testing Sony rootkit remover

by Jordan Running Dec 19th 2005

Not to be outdone by Microsoft, Lavasoft, makers of the Ad-Aware malware removal program are a beta program called ARIES Rootkit Remover designed to get rid of the XCP rootkit installed by some of Sony's DRM-encumbered CDs. Members of Lavasoft's beta testing program were alerted of ARIES' release by e-mail today, and the stand-alone software can be downloaded directly from the Lavasoft Research site.

[Via Digg]

Tags: ad-aware, drm, lavasoft, malware, rootkit, sony, spyware, xcp

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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