Available in Windows, Mac and Linux RealNetworks has issued an update that patches four security holes in its RealPlayer jukebox program, including a critical flaw that vulnerability tracker Secunia published today.… Read more…

A 23-year-old Oregon man was sentenced this week to four years in federal prison for using computer viruses to steal financial data from dozens of consumers. Investigators say the man used the information to set up multiple eBay and PayPal accounts, which helped him sell more than $1 million worth of pirated software. [...]

The Web became a substantially more dangerous place this week, thanks largely to the publication of instructions that show cyber criminals how to exploit a pervasive, critical flaw in the Internet infrastructure. While Internet service providers and corporations can mitigate the danger by updating the software that powers vulnerable components of their networks, [...]

BT, AT&T among those putting subscribers at risk More than two weeks after security researchers warned of a critical defect in the net’s address lookup system, some of the world’s biggest internet service providers - including AT&T, BT, Time Warner and Bell Canada - have yet to install a patch inoculating their subscribers against attacks.… Read [...]

Spam king Robert Soloway was sentenced this week to 47 months in prison for sending more than 90 million junk e-mail messages over a three month period. Meanwhile, federal authorities are searching for a spammer who walked away from a prison camp on Sunday. Soloway pleaded guilty in March to mail fraud, and [...]

I thought I was paranoid about protecting my home from disasters and thieves before leaving on vacation. But it’s nice to know there are some people out there who may be significantly more schizophrenic on this topic. A colleague sent me this primer (PDF) from the Institute for Security and Open Methodologies, which [...]

Still think threat is exaggerated? When Dan Kaminsky disclosed a critical flaw in the net’s address lookup system earlier this month, he said it was crucial internet service providers and other organizations install patches immediately. He wasn’t kidding.… Read more…

Parts of city network still locked out The sysadmin accused of hijacking San Francisco’s network may have surrendered the passwords needed to regain control of key parts of the system, but the move hasn’t gotten anyone very far. A judge has refused to lower his $5m bail, and officials say they are still locked out [...]

From the penthouse to the Big House One of the world’s most prolific spammers has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $708,000 in income for blasting out tens of millions of unwanted emails.… Read more…

No one is safe The number of drive-by download attacks has tripled and they are beginning to affect government websites as well as small business operations.… Read more…

City regains access to its own network San Francisco City Council regained access to its own computer network today after Mayor Gavin Newsom convinced network administrator Terry Childs to give them the passwords.… Read more…

Business users: apply now Research in Motion has issued a patch for a serious security flaw that puts businesses using the ubiquitous BlackBerry at risk.… Read more…

Crash test dummies Fabricated news of a supposed car accident involving Formula One star Fernando Alonso is being used to distribute a new banking Trojan.… Read more…

‘Your friend has paid us to kill you…’ You know how it is - things are a bit quiet in the internet cafes of Lagos, people have sussed MARIAM ABACHA doesn’t really have $30,000,000 (THIRTY MILLION DOLLARS) in gold bullion looted from Saddam Hussein’s personal vault, and so it looks like it’s time to up [...]

Firefox 3 users, who also have jacked up the security settings on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 to their most paranoid level, may find it trickier to download files with Firefox due to key changes recently made by Mozilla. In a Security Fix Live chat last Friday, a reader complained he or she couldn’t [...]