Android devices may not completely remove personal data from a device after a user activates the built-in wipe option, according to McAfee identity theft researcher Robert Siciliano. To test the security of various platforms, Siciliano purchased 30 devices, including smartphones and notebook computers, from the popular classifieds site Craigslist.
Sony Ericsson signalled Monday it was at last getting close to a launch for the Xperia pro. The work-grade Android phone is now due to ship this month, about eight months after we tried it in Barcelona. Exact carriers and prices haven't been identified.
Malware on Android is growing rapidly enough that it's now by far the most targeted platform, McAfee said in a new study (below). The number of viruses, trojans, and other rogue pieces of code aimed at Google's platform shot up 76 percent this past spring to reach 44. While small compared to Windows, it was three times the volume of the one-time leader, Java ME, which was at 14.
Hacking attacks around the globe have reached a new level with news that an unknown group has silently waged a hacking campaign over the past five-years. Dmitri Alperovitch, vice president of threat research at McAfee, has dubbed the high-level hacking campaign Operation Shady RAT. Alperovitch says around 70 public and private sector organizations around the globe have been victims of data theft resulting from the ongoing campaign.
Lenovo's plans for Android tablets beyond the Le Pad should take it into professional models based on a leaked presentation from Sunday. Called the ThinkPad Tablet, it would be the first known Lenovo slate with Android 3.0 and would make software customizations beyond just including the PC builder's already known Family UI interface. This is my next's copy of the slides showed "seamless integration" with corporate environments that would load up Cisco remote security tools, Computrace to find stolen tablets, as well as local security tools from McAfee and Symantec.
Intel has announced that it has completed its acquisition of computer security company McAfee, which has been added as a subsidiary that reports to Intel's Software and Services Group. The deal was worth $7.68 billion and required Intel to convince the European Commission that McAfee's products will maintain compatibility with hardware produced by competitors.
Intel this morning warned of a serious bug with the Cougar Point chipset that would force it to delay desktop PCs using its Sandy Bridge processors. Those using the 6 series have a flaw that gradually degrades the performance of the SATA ports over time, eventually affecting the speed of hard drives and optical drives. The issue was in hardware and needed a reworking at the factory for a fix.
The European Commission has now approved the $7.68 million buyout of McAfee by Intel. The approval required Intel's promise to ensure the interoperability of the new McAfee products with those of Intel's competitors in order to eliminate antitrust concerns. The commission praised Intel's cooperation in contrast to its resisting antitrust fines in 2009.
The McAfee Threat Predictions report has stated that Apple’s platforms, particularly its mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad will be increasingly targeted by cybercrime in 2011. The report noted a marked change in the threat landscape over the past year as mobile platforms have become more widely adopted in enterprise. It claims that where Apple has been relatively free of botnets and Trojans in the past, that these will become an increasingly common occurrence on its platforms next year.
The near $8 billion buy of McAfee by Intel this past summer was finally approved by the Federal Trade Commission this week. The approval paves the way for the $7.68 billion deal to be completed sometime next year. The European Commission is continuing to examine the purchase, however, and Intel is continuing to cooperate with the governing body on the review.
Patent holder Intellectual Ventures has initiated lawsuits against a long list of tech companies that failed to establish licensing agreements. One of the suits targets security software makers Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro and Check Point. A second suit is aimed at memory manufacturers Elpida Memory and Hynix Semiconductor, while a third suit has been filed against component makers Altera, Lattice and Microsemi.
Intel today surprised the tech community by acquiring antivirus developer McAfee for the equivalent of $7.68 billion in stock. The deal will open the door to tougher hardware security in processors themselves as well as tighter integration between chips and software in stopping security threats. Intel is most interested in security for mobile and embedded hardware, which often aren't as secure as full-size computers.
A McAfee update has reportedly wreaked havoc on businesses using Windows XP machines. The bug potentially affects hundreds of thousands of systems, causing many computers to disconnect from networks and fall into uncontrolled restarts, according to Gizmodo. The glitch appears to be limited to enterprise systems, rather than consumer-level devices.
Noting the rise of Macs in the workplace, McAfee has released Endpoint for Mac, allowing centralized anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall control, as well as application protection. The software allows IT administrators to use the same basic security console that works with Windows machines for their Mac users.
Dell in an unusual evening launch revealed its first non-education PC aimed at kids. A Nickelodeon Edition of the Inspiron Mini 10v will have a "slime" color scheme both on the lid and palm rest as well as a custom, Stardock-designed Windows XP skin with colors and icons themed around the TV network's shows. It also gets multiple links to special web portals on Nickelodeon's website and an updating desktop widget.
Microsoft late Wednesday said it's nearing the release of its first self-made antivirus software. Although mentioned in the past under its Morro codename, the new software is now known to compete directly with software from Kaspersky, McAfee, Symantec and other relatively low-cost apps. It will only focus on removing spyware, trojans and viruses as the company already has a built-in firewall for Windows.
Both McAfee and Symantec have confirmed work on iPhone-related software, according to Reuters. McAfee says it is specifically working on new security programs, described as part of a "comprehensive suite for the Apple family," including its usual Mac focus. Though the company has declined to provide specific details, including even a release timeframe, it is best-known for anti-virus software, and was last year spotted working on an iPhone app called iVirusScan.
Seagate on Monday announced it has teamed up with virus-protection software developer McAfee to develop its self-encrypting notebook PC hard drives from its Momentus Full Disk Encryption (FDE) line, in both 7200RPM and 5400RPM versions. Both are now available in 320GB capacities, or the highest of any FDE drive on the market, and Seagate promises to introduce even larger, 500GB versions soon.
Flash memory maker SanDisk and software security developer McAfee have teamed up on a new USB drive, the SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise, that automatically scans for, detects and keeps harmful malicious software, or malware, out. The secure USB drive is being demonstrated this week at the Foucs 08 security conference and promises to prevent file transfers to the drive when it detects the PC it is connected to is infected, even without a firewall. Malware includes viruses, worms, Trojan horses and other malicious software, for which the Cruzer Enterprise scans and keeps from being copied onto the drive.
Microsoft today has announced it would launch Equipt, a new software package that will let it experiment with subscription services. The suite gives users both a copy of Office Home and Student 2007 as well as the company's OneCare anti-malware and backup service; in exchange for an immediate discount on both services, customers will pay $70 per year to keep the full service active. Office is believed to remain active regardless of when the subscription ends.
Security specialist McAfee has released a new update for VirusScan for Mac, v8.6. Crucial to the latest edition is official support for Mac OS X Leopard, guaranteeing maximum compatibility; also included, however, is improved performance in file caching, using on-access and on-demand techniques. This will cache previously scanned files, sometimes reducing total scanning time from minutes to seconds. ePolicy Orchestrator 4.0 allows VirusScan management via the web, and signature file updates can now be incremental, so that downloads are often in kilobytes rather than megabytes. The program costs a minimum of $37 for a single license.
