Computer security is not created, nor is it improved, by calling people stupid. That's the conclusion I have arrived at after more than two decades in computer security and auditing. To put it another way, we should stop dropping the "S" bomb, especially when it comes to people who don't know any better. Consider the

Recently, the anonymizing network system TOR's (The Onion Router) traffic was ratcheted to a standstill in Iran, prompting a comparison by one of the TOR project developers to an emerging “arms race”. Users of the service, hoping to evade state censorship/snooping, encrypt the traffic that then gets routed anonymously around the globe. But it seems

Thinking of going online to get a Victoria's Secret giftcard for your Valentine? Be careful where you look! Some Google search results are rigged, especially image results. And some innocent-looking links are part of fraudulent activities such as cookie-stuffing and click-jacking. Below is a short video that shows what happens when you click on one

This weekend there will be street protests in Europe against ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. I want to put on record ESET North America’s opposition to ratification of this agreement while applauding the actions of countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Germany in withholding or delaying ratification. I would encourage anyone

I have a theory that says improving information system security–the security of our operating systems, network connections, and applications–just means the bad guys will focus more attention on our endpoints, the digital devices we use to access the information and systems we need to do our work. Furthermore, as we improve endpoint security technology, the

Scam artists and cybercriminals are looking to turn romance into profit now that Valentine's Day approaches, possibly taking over your computer in the process. According to ESET researchers in Latin America, we can expect the quest for love to be leveraged as an effective social engineering ploy to enable the bad guys to infect unsuspecting

In response to recent reports that malicious apps may have made their way into the official Android Market, Google has responded by announcing a new program to more proactively scan the Market and developer accounts for seemingly malicious apps and highlights and/or remove them before users experience trouble. Traditionally, the barriers of entry for developers

Privacy and security issues have generated a lot of criticism of Facebook in the past, some of which has been published here on the ESET Threat Blog. So it is only fair that we give Facebook credit for positive steps it has taken on the security front. One security measure that has impressed me recently

Awhile back we noted a case where Ramona Fricosu, a woman accused of involvement in a mortgage scam, was asked, following a law enforcement raid in which her laptop was seized, to decrypt data on the device for use as evidence, potentially incriminating her. She pleaded the 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination and refused to

When a direct message pops up on Twitter stating that other people are saying bad things about you, please think twice before clicking on any links in that message. Why? Because the links are likely to take you to malicious websites that are out to steal your Twitter password. They may also try to infect