Surfing Safe
News
31-05-2006 News change
Starting today, the news section will be disabled and moved to the forum. This has been done because the ammount of news is steadily increasing. To keep you, the visitor up to date we've reconfigured the forum to show more news and warnings. You can visit the forum by clicking on the forum button at the top of the page.
27-05-2006 Dell computers to be shipped with google toolbar by default
Though the google toolbar can come in very handy, it's going to be shipped standard by Dell on all it's new systems. This appears to be a breach of the right of individuals to choose the software they use. The toolbar can be uninstalled, but this is considered a very bed move by Google in the war for influence.
20-05-2006 Word vulnerability
You've probably heard about a new virus trying to exploit word. Fortunately most antivirus companies have updated their signature files, so when you haven't updated your scanner, do so now.
More info on this exploit
16-05-2006 Ouch, huuuuge security issue affecting all NT based systems, Windows NT, XP, 2000, 2003, server and enterprise
Securityfocus reported a huge vulnerability which lies in the conversion of dos style pathnames and NT style pathnames. Unfortunately there's no patch available, and most likely, it will take quite a while for a patch to appear, since so many products are affected. The flaw can also be used to, for example, disable your virusscanning software, and we all know what that means. Take a look here for a list of all affected products. An example exploit can be found here
Source: Securityfocus
15-05-2006 EU data retention law can have far reaching consequenses for Europeans
The controversial law, requiring ISP's and phonecompany's to store all digital data transmitted, including phonecalls, for a certain period (years). Gets a new twist, American intelligence agencies appear to have access to this data, under the current EU laws. The United States intelligence services approach privacy a 'little' different when compared to European agencies. So, where the European storage plan caused some controversy, this revelation causes a lot more. The US intelligence services usually combine all data gathered to create a full profile/overview of someone's do's and dont's. This data, combined with even more data, such as gathered when you visit the US poses a serious threat to the privacy of EU citizens. Several human rights watchgroups and critics have sent letters to their respective parliaments and/or EU representatives urging for restraints on the usage of EU data. Though the EU data retention law hasn't been fully implemented yet, but this news causes a serious blow to all Europeans who thought their privacy was being assured by the European Union.
Source: EUobserver.com
10-05-2006 Sophos antivirus products have CRITICAL vulnerability
So-called cabinet (cab) files containing malicious code can execute commands/run normally on systems with the affected software. The list is quite big, read the Sophos report here
Affected software, versions and patch availability:
| Sophos Anti-Virus | Affected versions | Non-affected versions | Update available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows 2000/XP/2003 v 5 | 5.2.0 and below | 5.2.1 and above | 5 May 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows 95/98/Me v 4.5 | 4.5.11 and below | 4.5.12 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows NT v 4.5 | 4.5.11 and below | 4.5.12 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 v 4.0x | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows 95/98/Me v 4.0x | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X v 4.7 | 4.7.1 and below | 4.7.2 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS 8/9 | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for UNIX/Linux | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for NetWare | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for OS/2 | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for OpenVMS | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus for DOS/Windows 3.1x | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Small business solutions | Affected versions | Non-affected versions | Update available |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sophos Anti-Virus Small Business Edition (Windows) | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Sophos Anti-Virus Small Business Edition (Mac) | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| PureMessage Small Business Edition | 4.04 and below | 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| Gateway products | Affected versions | Non-affected versions | Update available |
|---|---|---|---|
| PureMessage for Windows/Exchange | SAV version 5.2.0 and below | SAV version 5.2.1 and above | 5 May 2006 |
| PureMessage for UNIX | SAV version 4.04 and below | SAV version 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| MailMonitor for SMTP - Windows | SAV version 4.04 and below | SAV version 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| MailMonitor for SMTP - Windows | SAV version 4.04 and below | SAV version 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| MailMonitor for Notes/Domino | SAV version 4.04 and below | SAV version 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
| MailMonitor for Exchange | SAV version 4.04 and below | SAV version 4.05 and above | 28 April 2006 |
09-05-2006 Microsoft Exchange patch needs a workaround (huh?)
Dang! Microsoft does it again *sigh. The new exchange patch issued yesterday causes some serious problems, some functionality can and will be lost. Especially blackberry users are affected. Read all about the workaround at Microsoft.
08-05-2006 New version of Firefox not vulnerable to 'image exploit'
Though not a big threat, it's definately worth mentioning here. When a malicious website tricks you into rightclicking on an image and choosing 'view image' on a broken link. The broken link then opens a file on your computer and thus exposes it. The exploit has been fixed in Firefox 1.5.03 so update asap.
Source: Secunia
07-05-2006 Did you know
You can visit our forum for all the latest security news, virus warnings and tech news?
28-04-2006 Safe program alternatives (for your convenience)
Not really a warning, but this might come in quite handy. To decrease the risk of a virus infection, spyware or adware, Surfing-Safe presents you a short overview of 'dangerous' programs and alternatives. The list will be updated not only by Surfing-Safe, when you've got a good alternative for a 'dangerous' program, please contact us and your suggestion will be added. The list can be found under the Surfing-Safe section to the left.
Older news:
If you have any info you think belongs on this site, a personal review of a program, virus information, surfing tips, or have additions, found dead links etc. Please contact the webmaster.