Chris Brook

By the time U.S. Marshals, in the company of Microsoft Corp. attorneys, busted into the data centers of dozens of U.S. hosting firms to shut down the Rustock botnet in March, 2011, it was the main source of global spam. The takedown was notable for the success Microsoft had in using the courts to move against the hosters without prior warning that would allow the botnet operator to shift operations off the threatened infrastructure.

A recent audit of NASA’s computer network found the agency’s infrastructure fraught with security holes, many of which have been known about for months, yet remain unpatched, according to a report by the space agency’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

Exploits for scores of vulnerabilities in supervisory control and data acquisition software (SCADA) were made public on Monday, according to a report by The Register.

The DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) will be equipped for the “.com” entity by March 31, according to a PCMag.com report.While DNSSEC enhances DNS security as it is, the newly added .com security will act as an extra layer of protection, according to according to Matt Larson, the Vice President of DNS Research at Verisign.

Rogue antivirus and scareware typically requires user interaction to get a toe hold on victims’ computers. Users can protect themselves by steering clear of suspicious or merely opaque links (such as the shortened links common on Twitter and other social media platforms). Beware of pop-up ads warning of infections or offering free virus or hard drive scans – these are commonly associated with scareware. If such a message appears, close the pop up window, but do not click within the pop-up ad, and you’ll be less likely to suffer a scareware attack!

With your machine disinfected, take a few moments to update your operating system software and any third party applications to their latest (and most secure) version. Rogue antivirus and scareware programs are usually delivered as drive by downloads spawned by malicious Web sites. These leverage holes in Windows, common Web browsers or browser plugins, or common applications like Adobe Acrobat to bypass your computer’s security systems. Updating the software on your system can close that avenue of attack.

Once the scareware has been removed from your system, (re)install a reputable anti virus software package then use it to scan and clean your machine, once again. Scareware and rogue antivirus programs will often download and install other kinds of malicious programs while they have control of your system, including rootkits and keylogging programs. Make sure any secondary infections have been removed.