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Tech News Tidbits
Written by Terry Robert, Program Chair, ICON (Interactive Computer Owner’s Network), MO
www.icon.org
terry (at) iconusersgroup.org

This article has been obtained from APCUG with the author’s permission for publication by APCUG member groups; all other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).

My intention in writing this article each month is to help us understand technology’s emerging trends that affect our everyday lives.  While researching material for this month’s submission, I felt compelled to share these alarming trends with the rest of you.  

Sophos, a leading U.K.-based IT security and control firm, just published their “Security Threat Report 2009”, which examined the “threat landscape” over the last 12 months, and predicted the emerging cybercrime trends for 2009.  Two major points in the report are very alarming: 
•	American computers are making a disturbingly large contribution to the problems of viruses and spam affecting all of us today."
•	American websites host more malware and relay more spam than any other country

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos, said “Too many American computers have been compromised and are under the control of hackers, and nationally, the U.S. is carrying the most malicious Web pages.  When an American Internet company, accused of collaborating with spammers and hackers, was disconnected from the net in November, the amount of spam was immediately reduced by 75%.
 
Sophos's research reveals that in 2008, organized criminal gangs tripled their attacks against innocent websites, injecting malicious code to infect visiting home users and businesses.  They also documented an average of five new scareware websites (hackers posing as legitimate anti-virus vendors) each day, with the intention of scaring users into believing that their computers have been compromised.

By the end of 2008, Sophos was also tracking five times more malicious attacks arriving through e-mail attachments than at the start of the year, proving that hacking has become mainstream among organized crime.
  
As the Internet has matured into the foremost information resource on the planet, cyber criminals have refined their methods.  Hackers are using automated systems to break into vulnerable websites and/or generate new variants of their malware throughout the world!

According to Sophos’s findings, China was responsible for hosting more than 50 percent of all web-based malware in 2007, but this position was taken over by the U.S. in 2008. Their breakdown of the top malware hosting countries follows:
1.	U.S. 37.0 percent
2.	China (including Hong Kong) 27.7 percent
3.	Russia 9.1 percent
4.	the rest of the connected world 26.2%

Symantec also found the U.S. to host the most malware of all nations, but with lower percentages, and did not include Russia in their results.

We haven’t devoted a lot of time to security issues recently, but if you’ve participated in some of the discussions we have had, you know there are numerous effective strategies for protecting yourself from attacks.  

Avoid being connected to the Internet unless protected by:
•	Dependable antivirus software (with current updates)
o	Products include Avast, AVG, Norton, and McAfee
•	Malware detection and removal software
o	Products include Spybot Search and Destroy, Adaware, Spyware Blaster, and Advanced WindowsCare
•	Software firewall
o	Products include Windows Firewall (protects only against incoming threats in XP), Zone Alarm, and Kerio
•	A healthy dose of common sense
o	If you receive a popup telling you that your computer has been compromised, advising you to: “Click here to correct the problem”...DON’T TAKE THE BAIT!

If you have no strategy, do yourself (and the rest of us) a favor, learn to protect yourself.  Maybe you should attend more ICON functions?!