Sophos

Fake Angry Birds Slingshot Malware Onto Android Phones

Ina Fried in Mobile on April 13 at 5:00 am PT

Rovio and antivirus makers are warning of malware-laden software posing as the latest in the disgruntled aviary game franchise.

What Connect.me–the Sign-up Page That Got 50K Users in a Day–Actually Does (Video)

Liz Gannes in Social on March 22, 2011 at 10:42 am PT

A certain type of social Web user is virtually rabid for the new hotness. Connect.me’s page had all the right hooks: A cute and simple domain name and design, the enticing header “Reserve your username and get early access,” and rewards for getting connections from your social network to sign up as well.

Twitter Still Attracting New Users, Phishers

Peter Kafka in Media on February 22, 2010 at 4:33 am PT

Twitter’s astonishing growth doesn’t just generate awe and giant valuations, it attracts scammers who want to prey on the service’s ever-expanding user base. The most recent example: A new wave of phishing attacks.

Twitter: We Reset Some Passwords as Security Measure

John Paczkowski in News on February 2, 2010 at 5:31 am PT

According to Sophos’s 2010 Security Threat Report, there has been a dramatic rise in attacks on social networks in the past year. So reports this morning from a number of Twitter users claiming they’ve received an email from Twitter asking them to reset their passwords after a suspected phishing attack are certainly cause for concern–either because they have indeed fallen victim to a phishing attack or because they’re about to fall victim to one by following the email’s instructions.

Voices

Internet Explorer: Should You Stay or Should You Go?

Nick Wingfield, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on January 19, 2010 at 12:30 am PT

French and German government agencies have told people they should ditch Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser, at least temporarily, because of a security hole that hackers are thought to have exploited on recent cyberattacks against Google and other companies. What should you do?

Voices

Bit.ly Inks Malware-Spotting Deals

Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on December 2, 2009 at 1:00 am PT

As popular as link-shortening services are, security experts have been warning users that they put themselves at risk of malware infection by using them, since a suspicious-looking Web address just becomes another Bit.ly or TinyURL link once it’s shortened.

Voices

Cybercrime Capitalizes on Swine-Flu Fears

Marisa Taylor, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on November 18, 2009 at 10:48 am PT

Cybercriminals are capitalizing on swine-flu fears by pitching sales of fake Tamiflu, security firm Sophos said. Networks of fraudsters use spam and malware to direct Web traffic to phony pharmaceutical sites, wrote Graham Cluley, a technology consultant for Sophos.

Voices

Beware the Michael Jackson Spam

Andrew LaVallee, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on June 26, 2009 at 4:20 pm PT

It didn’t take long for fraudsters to exploit Michael Jackson’s death, as online security firms began reporting email scams using his name to attract victims. One message contains links supposedly of unpublished photos and a YouTube video of the singer, but the link prompts recipients to download a file that, when opened, opens a legitimate Web page while downloading and installing malware, according to San Diego-based security provider Websense.

Don't Be Evil–Just Serve Ads on It

John Paczkowski in News on July 24, 2008 at 9:49 am PT

Looks like Blogger is a more popular blogging platform than Wordpress and Moveable Type, after all–in some circles, anyway. Internet security outfit Sophos says it detects just over 16,000 malicious Web pages each day, and nearly 2 percent of them are hosted on Blogger.