MetaFilter posts tagged with malware and security

The dry, technical language of Microsoft's October update did not indicate anything particularly untoward.

The Whelk — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:40:29 -0800

Its reach is impossible to measure precisely, but more than 3 million vulnerable machines may ultimately have been infected. : The inside story on the Conficker Worm at New Scientist.

Heartland Systems data breach

Class Goat — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:39:55 -0800

"Payments processor Heartland Payment Systems has learned it was the victim of a security breach within its processing system in 2008. Heartland believes the intrusion is contained." Heartland Payment Systems processes payroll and credit card payments for more than 250,000 businesses. Looks like this data breach is even bigger than 2007's TJ Maxx break-in.

Sears Wants To Hack Your Computer

ikkyu2 — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:52:19 -0800

Online communities to become more 'all-encompassing.' If you join the SHC community on Sears.com, all web traffic to and from your computer thereafter will be copied and sent to a third party marketing research firm - including, for example, your secure sessions with your bank! The Sears.com proxy will send your logins and passwords along with a cleartext copy of all the supposedly secure data. But wait, it gets better: you can only view the true TOS once the proxy has already been installed. Hey Matt, you're lagging behind - this is the future of online community-building! [Via.]

bkdelong — Thu, 20 Dec 2001 10:30:40 -0800

Microsoft's newest version of Windows.... billed as the most secure ever, contains several serious flaws that allow hackers to steal or destroy a victim's data files across the Internet or implant rogue computer software. The company released a free fix Thursday.

A Microsoft official acknowledged that the risk to consumers was unprecedented because the glitches allow hackers to seize control of all Windows XP operating system software without requiring a computer user to do anything except connect to the Internet.