Archive for F-Secure

How do computer users around the world view online security risks? A survey* commissioned by F-Secure in Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Poland, Sweden, the UK and the United States reveals some interesting international variations in people’s experiences and perceptions of the threats.

Asked how concerned they are about their online privacy and data security, Germans (77 percent) and Malaysians (73 percent) expressed the most concern, while the Swedes (42 percent) and Finns (36 percent) appeared to be the least concerned — or the most confident about their online life.

An average of 49 percent of respondents across the seven countries said they have been hit by malware in the past 12 months, but that their security software had notified them and prevented infection. The most malware hits were reported by Poland (70 percent), Finland (60 percent) and Malaysia (54 percent), with Germany (32 percent) reporting the lowest figures. Poland (14 percent) and Malaysia (11 percent) had the most respondents without any anti-virus protection on their computers that have been infected by malware.

Sean Sullivan, security advisor at F-Secure, said, “Germany seems to combine a high level of worry with a low level of exposure to the actual threats. Caution is good when surfing the web, but being overly concerned may also prevent people from experiencing the full benefits of the web. There is also a learning curve, as people become exposed to threats, they also learn how to deal with new situations and become more confident and less concerned.”

International variation
The survey results also show that many computer users around the world are still unsure about security issues. For example, many people across the countries surveyed — Sweden (38 percent), United States (34 percent), UK (33 percent), and Germany (32 percent) — did not know if their computers were infected.

There is also wide variation in how concerned people are about specific types of malware attacks. Germans (65 percent) and Malaysians (59 percent) were the most concerned about downloading malware from a website, compared to just 22 percent of respondents in Finland. The risk of poisoned search results, which criminals use to lead people to malicious websites, was taken most seriously by the Germans (62 percent) and the British (41 percent).

According to the survey, credit card crime is the most prevalent in the United States, where 32 percent of the respondents personally experienced it or knew someone who has been a victim. Malaysia (27 percent) and UK (27 percent) also reported a relatively high level of credit card crime, while the lowest incidence was in Poland (11 percent) and Finland (12 percent).

Security terminology remains a mystery
An average of seven percent of respondents in the seven countries did not know what malicious code or malware was, with the highest scores occurring in the UK (12 percent), United States (12 percent) and Malaysia (9 percent). A significant proportion of Americans (29 percent) and the British (28 percent) were not aware what poisoned search results were. Rogue ware, such as the bogus security products that take computers hostage and fool people into making payments to remove fictitious malware, was a term only understood in Sweden and Poland.

Free online tools
F-Secure provides useful free tools to check whether your computer is fully protected or infected with malware. F-Secure Health Check gives you a comprehensive report on the health of your computer and suggests ways to fix any security problems. http://www.f-secure.com/en_US/security/security-center/health-check/

The best way to stay safe on the Internet and to keep your computer free of problems is to have an up-to-date security solution. A free trial of F-Secure Internet Security is available at http://www.f-secure.com/en_US/downloads

*The survey was commissioned by F-Secure and conducted by Zoomerang in May 2010 in Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Poland, Sweden, UK and United States with 1,450 respondents.
F-Secure – Protecting the irreplaceable

While you concentrate on what is important to you, we make sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses. Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
f-secure.com | twitter.com/fsecure | facebook.com/f-secure

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Greg Hoffman Consulting has a bag of freebies for affiliates attending Affiliate Summit East this weekend. I imagine most of them will be given away during the Meet Market as I will have some helpers. The freebies are from my affiliate management clients so all we ask in return is to join our programs and earn commissions. Not a bad exchange.

Look for me in the blogger’s lounge. Here is my tentative schedule.

List of vendors supplying gifts:

Flirty Aprons – men’s and women’s aprons
Mineral Hygienics – blush
F-Secure – notebooks, pens and Internet Security licenses
Poken – Gorilla Poken
Just Paper Roses – paper roses with the ASE logo




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This press release is from my affiliate management client, F-Secure. Please read.

Microsoft published Security Advisory 2286198 on Friday of last week, confirming the existence of a critical vulnerability in all supported versions of Windows. The new zero-day vulnerability is easily exploitable via USB storage devices, network shares or remote WebDAV shares. All that is required for exploitation is for the contents of the USB device to be viewed in Windows Explorer. Specially crafted shortcut (.lnk) files are allowed to execute code when the shortcut’s icon is loaded to the GUI. An exploit targeting this vulnerability is currently in limited use and additional exploits are very likely in the coming weeks.

The shortcut vulnerability was discovered during investigation of the Stuxnet rootkit, which has been used in targeted attacks aimed at Siemens SCADA systems. Such systems are used for supervisory control and data acquisition in industrial facilities such as power plants. The shortcut file used in this case is detected as Exploit:W32/WormLink.A.

The situation is now more critical because a publicly available proof of concept was posted to several exploit database sites over the weekend. Proof of concept exploit code is now in-the-wild and F-Secure fully expects virus writers to utilize this method of attack in the near future.

Sean Sullivan, Security Advisor at F-Secure, said, “This shortcut worm is very dangerous and the seriousness of the situation will increase until Microsoft releases a fix. And because Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 is no longer supported, even the fix won’t fully resolve the issue. This is a major concern as F-Secure’s research shows that SP2 is still being used by many organizations.”

F-Secure strongly recommends that companies and organizations migrate to Windows XP Service Pack 3 as soon as possible, or implement Microsoft’s suggested workarounds.

Additionally, organizations need to create or review their USB device policy.

“This danger can be mitigated with best practices. If a company doesn’t have a security policy regarding USB devices, they’re at risk. Those that do have a policy should review it and make sure that it’s being followed. This is time critical as summer vacation season is approaching,” says Sullivan.

F-Secure Security Lab is continuing its research into the “shortcut worm” and the latest news will be available at our blog http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/

F-Secure – Protecting the irreplaceable
While you concentrate on what is important to you, we make sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses. Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

f-secure.com I twitter.com/fsecure I facebook.com/f-secure

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We added some new teaser banners last week for F-Secure since the Internet Security 2011 version from F-Secure is going to be released soon. We have some big plans for this promotion so make sure you have joined the program in Commission Junction.

Here are the new banners:

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F-Secure announced today the availability of F-Secure Mobile Security 6 on the Android platform. Operators can now offer consumers and businesses a full range of F-Secure protection for smartphones on the Android, Symbian and Windows platforms, as well as data security services for PCs and Macs.

Patrik Sallner, VP, of F-Secure’s Mobile Business Unit, said, “F-Secure Mobile Security is the world’s leading smartphone security solution and we are very pleased to make it available for Android alongside other popular mobile platforms. This means our operator partners can now provide their customers with comprehensive IT security covering both smartphones and computers.”

F-Secure Mobile Security 6 provides complete security for smartphones, protecting against malicious software and safeguarding confidential data even if the phone is lost or stolen. Its innovative Browsing Protection makes Internet use and mobile financial transactions safer than ever for smartphone users.

Sallner said, “Today’s smartphones are designed for surfing the web and financial transactions such as online banking and shopping. In our recent survey* we found that over a third of users surf the web with their smartphones and just over ten percent use them for online banking. F-Secure’s advanced technology provides peace of mind for smartphone users so they can enjoy their devices to the fullest without worrying that sensitive information may fall into the wrong hands.”

Browsing Protection identifies which websites are safe to enter and blocks harmful sites that try to spread malware or steal confidential information, such as banking details. The Anti-Theft feature makes it possible to remotely lock the phone or erase data on the phone if it is lost or stolen. It can also inform you of the new number if the SIM card is changed and can show you the phone’s location, so you can track down who has your smartphone. F-Secure Mobile Security 6 also protects smartphones against malicious software, including spying tools, viruses and trojans. Frequent automatic updates, immediate reaction times and fast cures during new and emerging threats are guaranteed by the F-Secure Labs, which operate 24 hours a day worldwide. F-Secure is a pioneer in mobile security and has already been protecting mobile devices for a full ten years.

F-Secure Mobile Security 6 is now available for Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms through the F-Secure eStore http://www.f-secure.com/en_US/products/mobile/mobile-security/. A free seven-day trial version of Mobile Security is available at: https://shop.f-secure.com/cgi-bin/dlreg/ml=EN?ID=FSMAVTB&desid=MOBILE&APX=SITE-EN

F-Secure – Protecting the irreplaceable

While you concentrate on what is important to you, we make sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses. Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

f-secure.com I twitter.com/fsecure I facebook.com/f-secure

* The survey was carried out by independent third party Zoomerang in May 2010 across 1,439 Internet users in the United States, Germany, UK, Finland, Sweden, Poland and Malaysia. There were approximately 200 persons surveyed per country.

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Another great press release from my affiliate management client, F-Secure on Commission Junction. Join today and earn up to 50% commission.

It’s not just soccer fans around the world who are interested in the FIFA World Cup, which is kicking off in South Africa on Friday, June 11. The huge global interest in the event also attracts cybercriminals who see it as a major opportunity to make money by selling fake tickets, attracting soccer fans to drive-by download websites (websites that download malware without the users knowledge) and carrying out phishing attacks camouflaged with a World Cup theme.

Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer at F-Secure, said, “I urge soccer fans everywhere to give cybercriminals the red card by refusing to be fooled by their dirty tricks. In addition to online vigilance against World Cup spam, scams and hoaxes, it’s also crucial to keep computers patched and up-to-date to avoid getting hit by drive-by downloads from dubious websites.”

World Cup tickets are hot property at the moment and desperate fans looking for last minute bargains make an ideal target group for online fraudsters. Unfortunately, many of the seemingly attractive ticket deals offered outside the official World Cup website, www.fifa.com, are bogus and fans end up losing their money.

A survey commissioned by F-Secure* conducted in Germany, Sweden and the UK asked how likely Internet users would be to click on a link promising information about cheap tickets for the World Cup. An average of 28 percent of respondents in the three countries were tempted to some degree, with about 8 percent of respondents saying they would be very likely to click on the link.

With World Cup fever taking over the planet, hundreds of millions of people are also visiting all kinds of websites that purport to give the latest results and breaking news from the tournament. In anticipation of all this web traffic, cybercriminals have been setting up bogus websites designed to appear near the top of search engine results for the World Cup, ready to infect visitors. Spam email about star player scandals, sensational sports news reports from South Africa and fraudulent World Cup tickets are also certain to multiply as the tournament gets under way.

Soccer fans should also be on the look-out for phishing attacks disguised as competitions or surprise lottery wins that attempt to steal their credit card numbers, online banking details, personal passwords, and other confidential information.

Mikko Hypponen’s top tips for staying safe online during the World Cup:

- Don’t believe the spam – you have not won a lottery for free tickets for the World Cup final.

- Only buy online tickets and merchandise from www.fifa.com and authorized vendors. More information is available on the FIFA website.

- Get your World Cup news from reputable websites.

- Use the free F-Secure Health Check (www.f-secure.com/healthcheck) and Online Scanner (http://ols.f-secure.com) to check if your computer is secure or get full protection with a free 30-day trial of F-Secure Internet Security 2010 (www.f-secure.com/is2010).

F-Secure’s free online Health Check and Online Scanner can pinpoint any security issues that need to be fixed so you can enjoy the World Cup to the full. Health Check lets you know if you are using the latest software versions – this way criminals cannot exploit vulnerabilities that exist in out-of-date programs. Online Scanner scans your computer for known malware. F-Secure is also offering a free 30-day trial of F-Secure Internet Security 2010, which provides comprehensive protection for your computer – perfect for the duration of the World Cup.

F-Secure – Protecting the irreplaceable
While you concentrate on what is important to you, we make sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses. Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
f-secure.com | twitter.com/fsecure | facebook.com/f-secure

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This is a great article on internet safety for kids published by my client, F-Secure. They have a great affiliate program on the Commission Junction network. Join here and earn up to 50% commission.

Because of the recession, summer camp is now a luxury for many parents. Meanwhile, the job market for teens hasn’t been this tight in decades. So you can bet that your kids will be spending countless hours Facebooking, YouTubing and Twittering away this summer.

You can also be sure cybercriminals will be hitting your PC with every phishing scam, malicious link and malware they can imagine. At the same time, social networks have opened your kids’ lives to world, creating privacy and safety concerns that your parents never had to deal with.

To protect your PC and your kids, here are five things you need to know before you leave for work tomorrow.

1. Links are not your friends
With one click on a Facebook link, your PC could be crippled. Cybercriminals are aware that many of the more than 400 million users of Facebook have plenty of time to kill. That’s why they’re spreading their scams with links described as “The Sexiest Video EVER” or “You’ll never believe this LOL.” When a link like that appears on a Facebook wall posted by a friend, it takes incredible will power not to click it. So repeat this mantra: If a link looks too good to be true, it is. Of course, this advice won’t always work. That’s why you should go ahead and bookmark F-Secure’s free Browsing Protection. If your son or daughter feels they must click on a sensational link, have them check it out first.

2. Make it your job to arm your PC with the most recent updates
If you don’t keep your system software up to date, you risk inviting predators into your PC. Monthly updates for Windows, Adobe Reader, iTunes, and other applications are essential for your online safety. This process can be tedious and time consuming, but F-Secure’s Health Check makes it easy. Run it once a month and feel a little better about letting you kid take control of the keyboard and mouse.

3. Just say no to installing software
Once you’ve run Health Check and made sure you’re protect, there’s no need for your kids to install any random software that pops up. So just say no. No, you do not need to add some media player. No, you do not need to click on that ad to scan the PC to see why it’s so slow. No. No. No. If there is something the PC needs, have your child wait until you get home and check it out. And if you aren’t sure what the software does, Google it. These few extra steps can prevent some pretty nasty malware from ending up on your PC.

4. Set clear boundaries for what your child should not share
Most kids know more about Facebook than you’d ever want to. They know how to add and erase apps or how to block this user and not that one. They know how to make their photos only available to friends of friends. But they may not know what they should NOT share. Make sure your kids know not to share their private information—email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses—in public. They should also avoid posting information about their schedule, especially vacations. Tell them that they aren’t to post when their parents are home or not. On a social network, you can never be sure whom exactly you are sharing your information with, or which of your friends might share your information to the whole world. Your kids need to know that no matter how private their settings tell them they are, anything they post on a social network should be considered as public as the front page of a newspaper—if they know what that is.

5. If you can’t beat them, join them
You should know which social networks your children are on. If you have the time, it’s a good idea to start a profile on the site and become their friend or follower. It doesn’t take long, maybe five minutes per site. This way, you’ll get a sense of what your kids are sharing with whom. You can’t watch your child every minute. But if they get the sense that you could be watching, it can only help them think before they click or post.

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F-Secure today announced that its antivirus has been given the highest Advanced+ score in the “On Demand Detection of Malicious Software” test conducted by the independent testing organization, AV-Comparatives, in February 2010. This is the sixth consecutive Advanced+ award for F-Secure Anti-Virus since August 2009 in AV-Comparatives’ tests on the world’s leading antivirus products.

AV-Comparatives is an Austrian non-profit organization providing independent antivirus software tests free to the public. Its latest comparative test measured how accurately the antivirus products detect malware and if they falsely detect viruses from clean files. In addition to effective malware detection, the AV-Comparatives’ test proved that F-Secure’s antivirus is extremely good at avoiding false positives. False alarms can sometimes cause as much trouble as a real infection, according to AV-Comparatives.

Andreas Clementi, Chairman of AV-Comparatives, said, “In order to better evaluate the quality of the detection capabilities of the antivirus products, we also provide a false alarm test. F-Secure’s antivirus product scored extremely well with few false positives. It is important that an antivirus product makes the right decisions about possible malware because users don’t have the skills and don’t want to be bothered by the antivirus to make complex decisions about security issues.”

Mika Stahlberg, VP, F-Secure Labs, said, “F-Secure’s sixth Advanced+ score in the AV-Comparatives tests is very satisfying. It shows that all the effort we are putting into researching and developing our antivirus technology and improving our response processes is directly benefiting the end customer. By combining powerful malware detection with a minimal level of false positives, we make sure that our security solutions do not disturb the user and demand action unnecessarily.”

The full details of AV-Comparatives tests can be viewed at http://www.av-comparatives.org/.

F-Secure Internet Security 2010 is available at http://www.f-secure.com/en_US/products/home-office/internet-security/

F-Secure — Protecting the irreplaceable
While you concentrate on what is important to you, we make sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses. Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.
www.f-secure.com | www.twitter.com/fsecure | www.facebook.com/f-secure

Editors Note: Join the F-Secure affiliate program and earn up to 50% commission!

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The Internet security experts at F-Secure today released five tips on how to protect personal information while preparing taxes electronically. Additionally, this tax season, F-Secure will be offering F-Secure Internet Security 2010, a comprehensive PC security suite for home use, for a special price of $49.99, a $10 savings off of the list price. This limited time tax offer will be good for purchases through April 30, ensuring that even those who file late can still file safely. Used in conjunction with F-Secure’s tax preparation tips, taxpayers will have a strong defense against potential cyber-attacks and online scams this tax season.

Cyber crime has been on the rise, with the FBI reporting that the amount of monetary loss claimed in 2009 more than doubled to nearly $560 million. The type of information contained in tax returns, such as social security numbers, is key for crimes such as identity theft, which the Federal Trade Commission estimates cost consumers $50 billion a year.

The Internal Revenue Service sees about 20% of all taxpayers wait until the last two weeks to file, with about 40 million returns filed in April. Of those, nearly 25 million will be electronically filed (e-filed), over 60%, containing the kinds of digitized personal and financial information sought after by cybercriminals.

To help protect your information as you prepare to file, F-Secure recommends these five easy steps:

Make sure your computer and security software are updated — Even in the rush to file on time, you shouldn’t compromise your safety. If you’re not sure about whether your software and system are up to date, F-Secure’s free Health Check can help.

Share your tax documents the old-fashion way — don’t send personal details and tax forms to your spouse or tax preparer as email attachments or via instant message.

If you must email a document, zip and password protect the file — tell the recipient the password over the phone, and don’t be afraid to ask them if their computer is secure as well.

Password protect your life — make your passwords long and complicated, no birthdays, pet names, or consecutive letters or numbers.

Double-check your tax preparer or tax preparation software — look at third-party sources to make sure that the tax program or preparer you choose is reputable and will ensure your safety when you file.

“Over the next two weeks, millions of Americans will send sensitive personal and financial information to the I.R.S. using online tax preparation tools, but defense against cyber crime should start before you begin filling in your information and extend beyond hitting that final ‘submit’ button,” said Sean Sullivan, Security Advisor, North American Labs, F-Secure. “Information used in tax preparation often stays on PCs long after April 15, but following a few simple rules can help keep computers and information safe no matter what month it is.”
Taxpayers looking to protect their home computers from viruses, spyware and other malware year-round can keep their information safe with F-Secure’s Internet Security 2010. The one-year subscription protects up to three PCs, and can be purchased at www.f-secure.com.

More details about how to protect yourself during tax preparation can be found online at http://www.f-secure.com/en_US/security/security-center/security-stories/tax-season.html.

F-Secure — Protecting the irreplaceable

While you concentrate on what is important to you, we make sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses. Founded in 1988, F-Secure is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

Editors Note: Join the F-Secure affiliate program and earn up to 50% commission!

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fsecure logo

I’m happy to announce another great client for Greg Hoffman Consulting. F-Secure recently signed up with us to manage their Commission Junction program. F-Secure Internet Security is a growing brand in the US and they are knocking on the doors of the big guys in the industry. They currently pay 20% commission but I will have new terms coming out soon that will blow away the competition. Any affiliates joined in the program will enjoy a big surprise very soon.

While you concentrate on what is important to you, F-Secure makes sure you are protected and safe online whether you are using a computer or a smartphone. We also backup and enable you to share your important files. Our services are available through over 200 operators around the world and trusted in millions of homes and businesses.

Program details:

Commission: 20% – 45%

Cookie – 45 Days

Sign up – F-Secure on Commission Junction

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