Sunday, March 21, 2010

“Bad BitDefender Update Clobbers Windows PCs (PC World via Yahoo! News)” plus 2 more

“Bad BitDefender Update Clobbers Windows PCs (PC World via Yahoo! News)” plus 2 more

Bad BitDefender Update Clobbers Windows PCs (PC World via Yahoo! News)

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 04:30 PM PDT

Corina R buzzed up: Volcano erupts in Iceland, hundreds evacuated (AP)

3 minutes ago 2010-03-21T02:56:44-07:00

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Cybercrooks take shine to Apple lineup (Washington Post)

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 09:00 PM PDT

According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, online fraud of all kinds rose 22.3 percent between 2008 and 2009. Credit-card fraud made up about 10 percent of the total number of complaints referred to law enforcement. Last year, companies and individuals lost more than half a billion dollars to cyberthieves, and a disproportionate share of that was Apple-related.

Why is Apple so popular with scammers? Its business model gives them two ways to use stolen credit-card numbers, according to Robert Vamosi, research analyst specializing in security, fraud and risk for market research firm Javelin Strategy & Research. First, electronics are a hot category for thieves.

Of course, Apple isn't the only company that makes or sells hardware; electronics retailers and big-box stores are also targeted by thieves. Wal-Mart seems to be another popular mark; security experts say overseas scammers gravitate toward it because they're familiar with the brand name (8,000 stores in 15 countries will do that) and because of the company's recent foray into more name-brand electronics. Domestic scammers like the Bentonville behemoth because it offers a nearly limitless variety of merchandise that can be bought with a stolen card and either resold on the street or returned for credit.

Electronics are popular with international crooks in part because they're an easy way to get money overseas. Crooks who want to avoid the scrutiny that comes from schlepping briefcases of cash across borders can essentially treat electronics as currency, using a stolen credit card to buy Apple products or other hot electronic goods and have them shipped to another country where they'll be resold, employing U.S.-based mules who get a small kickback for their participation.

Also, hardware is valuable because when thieves get their hands on the newest equipment, they can keep up their end of the arms race with banks, retailers and other developers of security features aimed at locking them out of the marketplace.

Apple might be particularly vulnerable because of the price disparity between the United States and the rest of the world when it comes to its iconic hardware. The blog cmyplay created a chart showing how laptop prices in Brazil, for instance, can be up to $1,200 higher than they are in the United States. Discrepancies like this can be tempting to black-market buyers and sellers.

Citing security, none of the major issuers or big banks would reveal how prevalent Apple-related credit-card scams are, but one bank rep did point out that computers and high-end electronics can be a magnet for thieves because of their resale value.

There's a second reason Apple could be at risk. When professional credit-card scammers get card numbers, they don't get just one. They get dozens or even hundreds, of which only a handful might still be valid. One of the easiest ways to test if a number has been "switched off" is to make a small, innocuous purchase. A 99-cent mp3 file of Ke$ha or Taylor Swift does the trick nicely, and the ubiquitous nature of iTunes means such a purchase is less likely to trip an automatic fraud monitor at the card's issuer.

Technology has raised the stakes on the cat-and-mouse competition between retailers and criminals, and the data show that cyberthieves display no signs of slowing down. If the iPad turns out to be as much of a blockbuster as Apple hopes, it's safe to assume the device will play a starring role in online scams for some time to come.

-- The Big Money

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Bad BitDefender Update Clobbers Windows PCs (PC World)

Posted: 20 Mar 2010 05:10 PM PDT

Users of the BitDefender antivirus software started flooding the company's support forums Saturday, apparently after a faulty antivirus update caused 64-bit Windows machines to stop working.

The company acknowledged the issue in a note explaining the problem, posted Saturday. "Due to a recent update it is possible that BitDefender detects several Windows and BitDefender files as infected with Trojan.FakeAlert.5," the company said.

The acknowledgement came after BitDefender users had logged hundreds of posts on the topic. Some complained of being unable to reboot their systems.

"EVERY file that is trying to run is getting quarantined," one user, identified as lhmathys, reported. "Windows Explorer and even Bitdefender update itself is being quarantined. Someone really screwed this one up."

"We are in a really terrible position now," wrote another user, identified as ufitec. "We have 150 business clients and most of the pcs [on] which BitDefender thinks everything is virus does not boot any more!!!!"

In its note on the issue, posted around 4 pm Pacific Time, the company said it had issued a fix for the problem and offered instructions on how to repair the damage, saying that customers should remove files from quarantine and reboot.

Users who can't do that need to either use Windows' Last Known Good Configuration restore or System Restore options.

Earlier in the day, the company had advised users to disable the BitDefender antivirus module and wait for a new definition update, which is supposed to correct the problem.

BitDefender did not reply to several messages asking for comment.

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