[b]Prevx's ill-conceived idea[/b]
[b]Posted by Maxim Weinstein[/b]
Last week, BBC News reported that security firm Prevx will release a “small program” that will gather data about the effectiveness of anti-virus software:
In the face of the tidal wave of malware, said Mr Bolin, PC users need a better way to find out how well they are being protected and how long they have been at risk.
Mr Bolin believes the way to get a better sense of the performance of security companies is via a small program that sits on a PC and logs when files are installed.
The program would lie dormant most of the time but would alert a user if it noticed that a fix had been created for a particular virus or trojan it had spotted on a PC.
The idea seems to be that measuring the lag time between when a file is installed until a definitions file addresses it will “bring about change in an industry that is not changing.”
Agree with you YoKenny.
Also, it’s not easy to say that the others does not mark the file as infected. How would they check that? Against virus total? Upload the file?
[b]Second Wave of Adware Pounds Web Surfers[/b]
Once considered vanquished, adware has enjoyed a big resurgence in the last year, owing in large part to social networks.
By Leah Yamshon, PC World
October 19, 2010 10:01 AM ET
New adware companies are increasingly targeting Facebook, Twitter, and other popular social networking sites as a means of distribution. The share-friendly environment of such sites is ideal for spreading adware and trackware through third-party applications, which often hide their true intent.
The Origins of Adware
Adware is software that displays targeted ads when downloaded. It often comes bundled with downloadable games, movies, music files, or software programs, but it usually isn’t listed as part of the download. Once on your system, the app tracks your online behavior and serves up ads based on that behavior. The ads may appear as shopping assistants, targeted ads, pop-up or pop-under windows, highlighted keywords, search toolbars, floating ads, or other annoying extras.
Thank you for the info, Omid. You should have provided a link to the original eweek article rather than your copy of it in your blog.
Your blog gave no indication that it was pretty much a word-for-word copy of the eweek article. In your blog, something like “eWeek reports: Kaspersky Hack Redirected Users To Fake AV Site, http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/kaspersky-site-hack-redirected-users-to-fake-antivirus-site-10749” would have been better. You could then have posted relevant excerpts from the article. I didn’t realize you were merely quoting the article until I ran across it on eWeek.
When we purchase a new computer, it comes pre-installed with an OS, most of the times the OS is Microsoft Windows. Now almost all new computer systems are coming pre-installed with Windows 7.
Some computer manufacturers provide a recovery disc with their computers so that you can restore the OS in case you face problems while starting Windows.
But what would you do if you didn’t get the recovery disc or if you lost the recovery disc. Even if you have your genuine product key noted down in your diary or printed on the backside of your computer, you can’t use it to reinstall Windows because you don’t have the setup disc.