When to Worry About Security Holes--and When Not To


	November 27th, 2008 New version of XPC Spy Pro added! more


	December 04th, 2008 Microsoft and RSA partner on Data Loss Prevention more Worm uses familiar brands to lure people more Company data at the mercy of crooks more Norton AntiVirus Begone! more Criminals Take Control of CheckFree Web Site more Firefox Users Targeted by Rare Piece of Malware more Hacker threat: Rudd promises action more Lib Dems criticise 'shambolic' DNA database more Experts: US cybersecurity needs fresh ideas more Pentagon hacker tries one more time to avoid extradition more Virtually every Windows PC at risk, says Secunia more Sun patches at least 14 bugs in Java more Security, civil liberties experts question data mining more

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August 27th, 2008

When to Worry About Security Holes--and When Not To

One of the best things you can do to help keep your PC and your private data safe is to stay abreast of the latest security alerts. But security news stories often contain techie jargon that can make your eyes glaze over faster than a congressional session on C-SPAN.

To help you determine whether a particular alert is worthy of Chicken Little or is truly dangerous, here are translations for some of the most common threat terms.

Drive-by download: A big one. If a program or operating system bug allows drive-by contamination, your PC can become infected with malware if you simply view a malicious Web site. You don't have to download anything or click any links on the poisoned page.

User interaction required: You might think that you'd have to download a file or open an attachment to get hit by an attack described in this way. But experts often apply the term to simply clicking a link that will deliver you to a page containing a drive-by download.

Zero-day: Potentially major, but not always. This term most commonly refers to a flaw (and perhaps an attack exploiting it) that surfaces before a fix is available. If the attack is ongoing (see "in the wild"), watch out. But many alerts or stories play up zero-day flaws that aren't being hit and may never be; see the next entry.

Proof-of-concept: A flaw or attack that researchers have discovered but that bad guys have yet to exploit. If the alert says something like "proof-of-concept code has been released," crooks are very likely to create a real attack with that sample. But many evil-sounding proof-of-concept attacks never get weaponized.

In the wild: The opposite of proof-of-concept. When an exploit or malware is in the wild, digital desperados are actively using it. If the term is being used to describe attacks against a software flaw, make sure that you have installed the application's latest patches.

Remote code execution: This kind of flaw allows an attacker to run any command on the victim's computer--such as installing remote-control software that can effectively take over a PC. Holes of this type are dangerous, so take notice when you hear of one.

Denial of service: Not so bad. This term usually describes an attack that can crash a vulnerable program or computer (thereby denying you its service) but can't install malware. Occasionally, however, crooks figure out how to transform a denial-of-service flaw into a concerted attack that allows remote code execution.

Of course, your best bet is to apply security patches as they're released, whether to fix a proof-of-concept denial-of-service flaw (yawn) or to address an urgent zero-day drive-by download threat.

Source: PC World

	All news for December 04th, 2008:
	17:31	Microsoft and RSA partner on Data Loss Prevention
	17:29	Worm uses familiar brands to lure people
	17:27	Company data at the mercy of crooks
	17:23	Norton AntiVirus Begone!
	17:15	Criminals Take Control of CheckFree Web Site
	17:14	Firefox Users Targeted by Rare Piece of Malware
	17:12	Hacker threat: Rudd promises action
	17:11	Lib Dems criticise 'shambolic' DNA database
	17:10	Experts: US cybersecurity needs fresh ideas
	17:08	Pentagon hacker tries one more time to avoid extradition
	17:07	Virtually every Windows PC at risk, says Secunia
	17:06	Sun patches at least 14 bugs in Java
	17:05	Security, civil liberties experts question data mining
	All news for December 03rd, 2008:
	15:18	Hackers run Linux on iPhone
	15:17	Your face is easy to fake, says security company
	15:15	Microsoft opens up Vista SP2 beta
	15:09	Latest VB100 malware test brings good news
	14:57	Botnet Master Sees Himself as Next Bill Gates
	14:53	Apple removes Mac antivirus recommendation
	14:51	License server glitch exposes SonicWall users to e-mail security threats
	14:50	U.S. report sees major terror attack by 2013, ignores cyberattack risk
	14:48	Lenovo arms ThinkPads with Intel's built-in security
	14:44	Feds nab more members of alleged identity theft gang
	14:43	Apple's antivirus advice 'big to-do about nothing,' says researcher
	14:42	Opinion: Is there a hidden cost to data protection?
	14:41	Human error is top IT security concern
	14:40	Workers worried about job security might steal corporate data

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