The Chinese government have certainly been grabbing headlines over the last few years with regards to the internet. Everything from starting their own Chinese-language internet inaccessible from the outside world to trying to hack into Google accounts. Now the government has decided to target hacker websites in order to show how committed they are to stamping out cyber crime. Those Chinese certainly understand irony, don’t they…

The latest news comes about a site which apparently had hundreds of thousands of registered users, with over ten thousand of those signing up for paid accounts which supposedly granted them access to hacking software. Needless to say this site has now been shut down and its owners thrown in a dark cell (well, probably).

Apparently this one was the largest “hacker training” website in China, and had earned over $1m in membership fees for its owners. The move to shut it down could be tied to the Google fiasco, saving face for a government increasingly seen as a meddling force in the future of the internet.

The number of computer users being trapped by dodgy security software is increasing, according to a recent study by security firm Symantec. Usually this fake software is advertised using banner adverts telling users that their system is infected with a virus or needs a security scan. But once the user clicks on the advert they are taken to the scammers’ website, where they will be pressured into buying the software on offer.

Once installed, the fake anti-viruses typically install other viruses and malware which is then used to steal confidential information such as bank and credit card details. Another facet of this is that the software will also try to suppress any other security software currently installed on the system, opening the floodgates for more malware to find it’s way onto the system.

The problem with this scam is that even if the user manages to safeguard their data, they have still lost out by paying for the software in the first place. This software does nothing of any use, and the money will end up with criminal gangs who make millions a year from the scheme. Fake review sites are also helping the criminals by giving a falsely positive view of the software they are trying to hawk to their unwitting victims.

Symantec is warning that up to 40 million people may have fallen foul of this scam in the last 12 months alone, a sign that things are not improving at all. The company is warning users to be ever more vigilant and to only trust known brands when buying anti-viruses and other similar applications. However, with more and more novice computer users going online all the time, and for longer periods, the chances of them being caught out are increasing too.

Researchers in the University of Tokyo have come up with a new paint to stop electromagnetic waves on frequencies utilised by wireless networks, in order to help secure wireless networks in sensitive locations.

The paint contains aluminium-iron oxide particles which absorb the signals, meaning no transmissions should find their way in, or out, of a room painted with the substance. At the moment the team is targeting a cost of around £10/kg.

However, this is just another specialisation or improvement on existing electromagnetic shielding paints which have been available for a long time. In the past, these have been designed to combat a variety of signal wavelengths, from radio transmissions to TV and even mobile phones.

Wireless LAN technology currently works in the 100GHz range, which is much higher than the ranges currently catered for with shielding paint. Possible uses in the future could include movie theatres to stop people’s phones going off during a showing, businesses who share sensitive information over wireless networks and medical facilities.

Although it is certainly expensive to redecorate, it could help bolster security in certain businesses, but it has been stressed by security experts that nothing will ever replace or remove the need for adequate encryption and other security protocols. Home users are advised to secure their home networks, especially as more and more users switch to wireless networking technology and store more sensitive information than ever on their home computers.

Only yesterday, we informed you that Microsoft had released free computer security software, which goes by the name of Microsoft Security Essentials. The tool adds extra security to all Windows users and is completely free as long as they are using a genuine version of Windows.

However, computer security firm Symantec are questioning the reliability of the free software. They claim that the software is missing too much functionality  and is based on outdated security methods that have already been surpassed by hackers and virus developers.

A spokesperson for Symantec said;

“From a security perspective, this Microsoft tool offers reduced defenses at a critical point in the battle against cyber crime,” going on to say; “Unique malware and social engineering tricks fly under the radar of traditional signature-based technology alone — which is what is employed by free security tools such as Microsoft’s”.

In a stroke of good will, computer software giant, Microsoft, has released a free computer security software package to all Windows operating system users. The software set, named the Microsoft Security Essentials, can be downloaded free of charge from the official Microsoft website.

The website states that the package “provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.”

The only requirement is that users must have a genuine version of Windows, which will be etsted when you try to download the software. The application will run in the background and will automatically update itself to protect against the latest viruses and malware.

Almost everyone with a computer (which is pretty much everyone now anyway) will have most likely encountered a computer virus or some sort of malicious software on their computer. While there is anti-virus and similar software to help prevent these infections or intrusions occuring, computer hackers and virus creators are constantly redesigning the worms and trojans to find a way around the prevantatives.

This is what led researchers to come up with a new form of protection, based on nature itself. The researchers noted that when an ant is under attack or in danger, “swarming intelligence” will kick in and pretty soon an abundance of ants will show up to overwhelm the threat. Using this same logic, the researchers have developed a form of computer security that involves sending out ‘digital ants’ that will crawl computer networks and once they spot a threat they call in for reinforcements until the danger is cleared.

A sophisticated computer trojan virus has been developed by computer hackers to steal the login credentials of hapless computer users when they visit major financial websites, such as banking and credit card systems.

The Clampi Virus can infect a computer when the user visits a website with malicious code on it, the virus will then lie in wait until the user logs on to any one of 4,500 financial websites. Once this happens the virus then grabs the login informatino, such as the password, and sends it back to the hackers.

The Clampi virus was originally discovered in 2005, but the latest strain that has been developed seems to be much more infectious for computers and is spreading at a rapid rate.

Security researchers from the Internet security firm, PandaLabs, recently discovered a number of scams involving a rising demand for hacks on soocial networking sites. One scamstood out  in particular, which offered to give gullible wannabe hackers access to any Facebook profile, all for a small cost of course.

The website only asks for the ID of the account you want to gain access to, it then scrapes information like the users name and other details in an attempt to appear more legit. Then all you have to do is sed some of your own private details, along with $100 to some place in Ukraine and you’ll be able to download the username and password to access the Facebook account. Simple, yes?

Don’t fall for these scams!

In a classic example of how a computer system malfunction can have serious negative effects, the Police National Computer currently features a glitch that stops it from linking to the Northern Ireland criminal database. This means when routine checks are made, for example when someone is arrested and their name is put on the file, the computer is not finding their previous criminal profile if it was in Northern Ireland.

One such case is the Ulster terrorists, who are all on the Northern Ireland database, one of whom was apprehended recently, but they weren’t aware they had actually got Johnny Adair, nicknamed “mad dog”, until they went and Googled his name.

A recent study undertaken by PC Tools showed that a large proportion of Briton’s are failing to update their secruity software at regular intervals. In fact, the results show that Britain is the worst of all the Western European countries when it comes to ensuring PC security is updated consistently.

Of the 4,500 participants surveyed, a third answered that they didn’t update their security software and almost one in ten didn’t have any security software in place at all.

Michael Greene, vice president of Product Strategy at PC Tools, stated;

“While consumers are generally security conscious, they are not yet security savvy. The increased use of the internet among consumers, almost all of whom are now online on a daily basis, is providing a lucrative market for cybercriminals and as a result, we are seeing more and more sophisticated techniques that lure consumers into clicking on malicious links or downloading malicious files, for example.”