Lavasoft News - May 2007


The Ad-Aware 2007 beta testing phase is winding down with the final beta scheduled for May 8th. That means we are gearing up for the product's worldwide commercial release in June – yes, June! This launch is laying the groundwork for Lavasoft's future efforts against the next generation of malware and other cyber threats, an industry showing no signs of slowing down. This issue of Lavasoft News focuses on crime and punishment. Read about the organizations trying to catch the bad guys behind online fraud. And just who are the “bad guys”? We fill you in on how cyber crime works. We also have a follow-up on the much talked about privacy and anti-spyware legislations. Read a few of last month's Letters to the Editor on anti-spyware legislation. Write to editor@lavasoft.com with comments on what you see in this issue and what you would like to see in future issues of LN. Ad-Aware 2007 Launch in June The beta testing process of Ad-Aware 2007 has entered its final stage, and now our Ad-Aware users are only a month away from getting their hands on the final product. That's right - the commercial release of Ad-Aware 2007 is scheduled for June. Read more Investigating Cyber Crime - Those Doing the Chasing Hackers, phishers, spammers and scammers - rounding up these outlaws in cyberspace is just an ordinary day on the job for cyber investigators. Read more Creating Cyber Crime - Those Doing the Running Haven't we all heard the saying “Crime doesn't pay”? In cyber space it does and the people behind the cyber attacks are no hacks. As you will read, cyber crime is more sophisticated and organized than ever. Read more Legislating Online Fraud - An Update In last month's LN, we brought you the scoop on two anti-spyware bills that have moving through the U.S. legislative process. As cyber crime escalates and droves of sensitive personal data is available online through public records and data breaches, federal agencies, technology companies, and privacy advocates have joined in the push for U.S. legislation to keep up with threat concerns. Read more Top 10 Most Famous Hackers of All Time IT Security Get the inside scoop from IT Security on the cyber generation's most notorious computer criminals. Read more Security Shorts Lavasoft News has compiled of a list of "security shorts" - summaries of other online security stories making news around the world this past month. Read more New Targets in Detection (April 2007) Protect your privacy with a complete list of new targets for April 2007. Read more Lavasoft Blog If you want to go behind the walls of Lavasoft, hear what we are up to, what we are thinking and what is happening in the industry, the Lavasoft Company Blog is the place to go for regular, up-to-date information. Read more To get all news on one, printable page, click here Home		Stats These days, computer security threats are coming from all directions. Here are the top five worries keeping entrepreneurs up at night, according to a March survey by the research firm Forrester. Viruses and worms: 73% Spyware: 66% Spam: 64% Outside hackers: 57% Identity theft: 55% Source: inc.com Term of the Month A dialer is any program that utilizes a computer's modem to make calls or access services. Users may want to remove those that dial without the user's active involvement, resulting in unexpected telephone charges and/or cause access to unintended and unwanted content. They have the ability to run in the background, hiding their presence. Tech Tips You are a potential target for auto-dialer if you use a phone line to connect to the Internet or leave a telephone line connected to your PC even after switching to DSL or cable Internet service. Some tips: If you don't need a dial-up connection, unplug your phone from the computer. Disable dialup connections. If you're using Windows, for instance, click on "Start," "Settings," "Control Panel" and then "Internet Options." Open the "Connections" tab, and make sure "Never dial a connection" is checked. Update your Ad-Aware SE anti-spyware and run a full sweep of your computer. Helpful Homepage If you suspect your personal information has been stolen, one website will give you the answer - StolenIDSearch.com. Just input your social security or credit card number on the main page to search more than 2.3 million compromised numbers...for free. Lavasoft AB Lilla Bommen 1 411 04 Gothenburg Sweden www.lavasoft.com editor@lavasoft.com