TECH.BLORGE.com » Malware

Android 2.x: It’s what you want to develop for in 2012

Ronald O Carlson — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:51:16 +0000

Google’s mobile operating system gets a lot of grief for fragmentation. For better, worse and whatever comes after that, the platform is actually standardizing and rapidly so. In fact, a 55 percent and increasing share of active devices are running a version of Android that Google released two Christmases ago.

It was on [...] Related posts:

Computer password hall of shame

Ronald O Carlson — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:03:33 +0000

The big black hole of personal computer security can usually be found right between the user’s ears. From phishing (miracle weight loss, cheap Viagra, anyone?) to the subject of this wake up call, passwords, it’s people like you and me making bad, bad and easily avoidable choices.

Think of a high-profile computer security [...] Related posts:

As its star rises, HTML5 security called into question

Ronald O Carlson — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:43:30 +0000

Any computer can be hacked, it’s simply a matter of time, motivation and, increasingly less, skill. If you want to exploit Adobe Flash, the source of much hacker inspiration, there are ready made exploit kits available for download. With Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and, yes, even Adobe turning to HTML5, the question of [...] Related posts:

Rating the Black Friday/Cyber Monday scams

John Lister — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:45:35 +0000

Malware distributors who try to trick people using topical subjects are, of course, the scum of the earth. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t acknowledge that some of them are more skilful than others.

Take, for example, two scams that have [...] Related posts:

Android viruses up 472% since July

Ronald O Carlson — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:37:59 +0000

Too often the words “open and free” can be summarized with a single word, “infection,” thus presenting an increasingly dire situation that Google and its Android partners ignore at their peril.

Citing Juniper Networks analyst Dan Hoffman, Bloomberg is reporting a string of dangling statistics and supporting quotes about Android security [...] Related posts:

Adobe Flash: Another nail in the coffin

Ronald O Carlson — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 22:18:39 +0000

If you’re considering coding a website using Adobe’s malodorous multimedia middleware, unless you want to do it again very soon, think again. When Microsoft ships Windows 8 in 2012, about 365 days from now, one of the two browsers on offer won’t support plugins of any kind and that includes Adobe’s Flash.

Quoting [...] Related posts:

Mobile malware finds a home

Ronald O Carlson — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:15:01 +0000

What do you want in a smartphone? For many people, “is a phone, does that touch thing and can play Angry Birds” pretty much covers it. If the salesperson adds “free” or “buy one, get one free” to the pitch and the customer’s walking out the door with a bag.

Thereupon, pick a [...] Related posts:

Flash is dead? Thank Steve Jobs

Ronald O Carlson — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:17:20 +0000

What a difference a year makes. In 2010, Apple’s CEO was vilified by the haters for saying what everyone knew was true — Adobe’s bloated multimedia middleware would never run well on mobile, is woefully insecure and uses resources like a Hummer driving Republican. The haters still hate, but most everything else has [...] Related posts:

Android security: 2.5X more likely to encounter malware

Ronald O Carlson — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:19:53 +0000

No matter who you are and what devices you use, the sky is indeed falling — pain is coming. However, the rate at which the heavens are crashing down depends greatly on which widgets you use and Android folks will be screwed faster and more often.

Aside from a basic programming [...] Related posts:

How to watch the companies watching you

Ronald O Carlson — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:19:00 +0000

Whether you take precautions or not, your activity on the internet is being tracked — call it a fact of life. That said, if you’re curious about who’s doing the tracking and what they’re after, there’s a Firefox plugin that can help you find out.

So, who’s watching you? Exactly who you would [...] Related posts: