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McAfee updates Mobile Security to 2.0, keeps you protected on the go (video)
If you tend to exercise a bit more caution when using your mobile machine, we imagine you'll welcome McAfee's Mobile Security 2.0 with open arms. The Intel-owned security connoisseur has just introduced its refreshed apps, designed to protect Android handsets and slates, along with BlackBerry and Symbian smartphones. All users can take advantage of features such as Complete Anti-virus, Anti-spyware, Anti-phishing Protection, Call and SMS Filtering, while Android owners can also try out App Protection, which is said to interpret "how apps are accessing and possibly transmitting personal data," in order to keep your privacy under control. If you've been a paranoid -- or smart -- user since the first release, then the update will come at no cost, while those of you looking to jump aboard the secured ship for the first time will need to fork over the $29.99 subscription fee. You'll find all the details you need in the press release just past the break.
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro on sale this October, corporate thumbs flex in anticipation
Back at Mobile World Congress in February, Sony Ericsson managed to surprise attack us with the reveal of its Xperia pro. Now, nearly a full year and oodles of leaks later, that Android 2.3 QWERTY slider's ready to find comfort in consumers' hands. Hitting retailers globally this October, SE's 3.7-inch enterprise-minded handset comes pre-loaded with Mc Afee mobile security, Office Suite Pro, and is designed to make syncing with MS Exchange and other email clients a cinch. Business-friendly add-ons aside, the device packs ANT+ (to keep you in peak road warrior shape), and a generous 8.1 megapixel rear camera outfitted with an Exmor R sensor for HD video and 3D Sweep Panorama capture. There's also a Type & Send widget to make use of the device's Smart Keyboard -- which suggests reply options when slid open -- letting you bang out and send off text from the homescreen. Sound like the kind of slider that'll suit your white-collared needs? Then hit up the source below to get your order on.
McAfee and Intel partner up to put anti-theft tech in Ultrabooks
Intel has long provided hardware-level anti-theft technology, primarily for its enterprise customers. But, as users become increasingly mobile, the need to extend those protections to average consumers has become more and more apparent. McAfee is teaming up with Chipzilla to create a consumer-friendly software package that will interact with the chip-level anti-theft tech that will be packed into every Ultrabook. Details about the software are pretty slim for the moment, but we know it'll feature remote lock, remote wipe and location tracking to help you recover you precious lappy and keep your personal data out of the hands of ne'er-do-wells. The suite will start shipping alongside the tiny notebooks next year, but while you wait, check out the PR after the break.
Daily Update for August 24, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
McAfee: Android malware soars while iPhone untouched
McAfee says that the Android OS is having some issues with malware lately -- according to a new study from the anti-malware company, Android malware has grown by 76% over the past few months, sending the number of troublesome scripts out there to over 40. Some of the malware appears to be legitimate apps, and other issues come from code that sends unwanted text messages or performs other scammy behavior. Meanwhile, Apple is doing great with iOS -- McAfee has recorded zero legitimate threats to a stock iPhone, with the only attacks on the hardware coming to four different jailbroken devices. It appears Apple's "walled garden" approach, while limiting to some developers and customers, has at least made good use of those walls in keeping malware away. The other mobile OS with a spotless score? webOS, which of course is probably that way simply because it's just not used that much.
Intel shocks everyone, including itself, with record Q1 earnings
This is starting to get a bit repetitive, but we're sure Intel will never tire of hearing it: the chip maker just had its best quarter ever. The company expected to pull in roughly $11.6 billion, topping last quarter (and its previous record) by $500 million. Looks like the company was being conservative enough to make Pat Robertson blush -- it raked in a grand total of $12.8 billion in Q1 of 2011. About $500 million of that discrepancy can be explained by the acquisition of McAfee and Infineon, the rest is thanks to huge increases in sales across all market segments. Now go ahead, Intel, you just pretend to be surprised like last quarter.
McAfee predicts Apple under threat in 2011 (again)
It happens around this time every year -- some company that makes its money from security computers claims that next year will finally be the year the Mac goes under attack from virus programmers. This year it's McAfee, who are claiming in a report that due to the popularity of iOS devices, Apple will become a "prime target" for hackers and virii in 2011. As you might expect from a company that sells anti-virus software, McAfee claims that its research shows "threats of data and identity exposure will become more pronounced," especially on the Mac. Go figure. That's not to say that you shouldn't be careful about your computer -- always stay away from sketchy websites and browse as securely as you can, always use secure passwords, and always keep your Mac up to date with the latest patches and fixes, just in case. I'm not even saying that all anti-virus software is a waste of money -- there are some good worthwhile solutions out there if you feel they're necessary. But the anti-virus folks have been predicting Macs will finally get threatened for years now, and Apple's platform is still much more secure than most others.
AT&T, Verizon, RIM get serious about security for mobile devices
As commonplace as smartphones have become, it's about time that carriers and manufacturers start getting serious about mobile security (and no, we don't mean iPhone tethers). According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Verizon is currently working with Lookout, a San Francisco-based company known for remote backup and geolocation apps for BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Mobile devices, while RIM has recently announced a little something called BlackBerry Protect, which promises to lock or even wipe a misplaced phone, pinpoint the thing on a map, and make regularly-scheduled wireless backups. By far the most ambitious plans in the article, however, belong to AT&T, which -- aside from recent deals with MobileIron and McAfee -- is currently opening a new mobile security lab in New York City. From here, the company will research malware, worms, viruses, and other threats as they develop in the mobile sphere. "Everyone is realizing that this is an uncontrolled environment," said AT&T chief security officer Edward G. Amoroso. "We don't want to have the same problems that we had with PCs."
Intel CEO reveals Google TV launch is this month, explains McAfee purchase
Today's Wall Street Journal has a few key words from Intel CEO Paul Otellini, with a few comparing his company's Google TV approach to the refreshed (and now Intel-free) Apple TV. The biggest revelation is a mention that Google TV will start shipping this month (more specific than Google's own fall prediction of a few days ago) with no word whether that includes products from Sony, Logitech or both. According to Otellini, Intel's success will mean using "the right chip for the right job," and that includes getting its hands dirty on the software side, where he claims his company is responsible for 50% of the code in Google TV. When asked about Apple's simplified approach to the living room he referenced them as two different approaches that may appeal to different audiences, pointing out Apple TV as something his mother might enjoy while his son could make use of Facebook on the Google TV. Oh, and the $7.68 billion Intel dropped on McAfee last month? He considers it a "valuable asset" and says the best security relies on a combination of hardware and software. The theme of the day is how Intel can compete beyond the PC, but whether it's tethered to the TV or in tablets, the head guy is confident Intel's industry partners won't let Apple run away with either.
Intel acquires McAfee for $7.68 billion
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/tech_news/Intel_acquires_McAfee_for_7_68_billion_Engadget'; Well, we got our copy of McAfee Antivirus for $29, but it looks like Intel had something a little more substantial in mind. The latter has picked up the Santa Clara-based security / antivirus company for a cool $7.68 billion, which works out to $48 per share in cash. Intel informs us that it will function as a wholly owned subsidiary (under the control of its Software and Services group). This comes hot on the heels of the company's acquisition of TI's cable modem unit, and possibly signals a new focus on security for connected devices. "The cyber threat landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years, with millions of new threats appearing every month," said McAfee CEO Dave DeWalt."We believe this acquisition will result in our ability to deliver a safer, more secure and trusted Internet-enabled device experience." This has added a wonderful new phrase to the Engadget lexicon (and possibly even a name for our new garage band): Cyber Threat Landscape. PR after the break.
McAfee patches customers' hearts with subscription extension, reimbursement for PC repairs
McAfee's little issue with a security update that sent Windows XP computers far and wide to a screeching halt was fairly unprecedented as far as anti-virus software goes, and it looks like the company is now taking some considerable steps to make up for the mess it created. Not only is it handing out a free two-year subscription extension to all affected customers, but it will soon be starting a program to reimburse "reasonable expenses" that customers have incurred in repairing their PCs. Complete details on that program aren't available just yet, but it will apparently be starting "within a few days," and will involve submitting a reimbursement request to McAfee. Given the number of users involved, however, we've got to guess that McAfee won't be buying folks new PCs, and chances are it'll take quite a while to get your check in the mail, though we'll just have to wait to see exactly what McAfee has planned.
Botched McAfee update shutting down corporate XP machines worldwide
We can't officially confirm this yet but, We're hearing from all over that a bad McAfee for Windows XP update is causing computers worldwide to shut down. Apparently DAT update 5958 deletes the svchost.exe file, which then triggers a false-positive in McAfee itself and sets off a chain of uncontrolled restarts and loss of networking functionality. Yeah, wild -- Twitter is basically going nuts, and McAfee's support site appears to be down. There are some fixes floating around out there, but it may be too late -- the final tally of borked PCs today may reach into the millions. We've already heard anecdotally that an Intel facility has been affected, as well as Dish Network call centers, and we're sure there are going to be more reports as the day wears on. Update: McAfee just sent us a statement -- they've pulled the update from their corporate download servers, and consumers shouldn't be affected. McAfee is aware that a number of customers have incurred a false positive error due to incorrect malware alerts on Wednesday, April 21. The problem occurs with the 5958 virus definition file (DAT) that was released on April 21 at 2.00 PM GMT+1 (6am Pacific Time). Our initial investigation indicates that the error can result in moderate to significant performance issues on systems running Windows XP Service Pack 3. The faulty update has been removed from McAfee download servers for corporate users, preventing any further impact on those customers. We are not aware of significant impact on consumer customers and believe we have effectively limited such occurrence. McAfee teams are working with the highest priority to support impacted customers and plan to provide an update virus definition file shortly. McAfee apologizes for any inconvenience to our customers Ouch -- that might be the understatement of the year. We've definitely hearing this affects SP2 as well, we'll keep looking for more. Update 2: The anecdotal numbers keep rolling in, and they're not small -- 30,000 machines are knocked out here, 60,000 there. Given that the only fixes right now involve techs spending time with each affected machine individually, things could get seriously messy. We'll keep you updated if you keep us updated, okay? Update 3: Here's an official McAfee fix, although like we said, it requires tech to hit each machine in person. We'll see what the story is for bigger institutions with tens of thousands of seats. Update 4: We're told the official fix only helps those who haven't been hit with the bug yet, so there's obviously still issues to be sorted out. [Thanks, Tyler.] [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Developing...
Antivirus company claims viruses are out to get you
McAfee Avert Labs, a monitoring and research division of McAfee Inc., claims that malware attacks are on the rise, and the targets are often gamers. According to McAfee, there was a 245% growth in the amount of malware being developed from 2006 to 2007, with roughly 300% more developed from 2007 to 2008. So far this year, development already exceeds 2006 and 2007 combined. Earlier this year, McAfee released a list of some of the most dangerous web domains. Even major, reputable websites are not immune, although the problems are usually addressed almost instantly. Commonly targeted websites include social networking sites like Facebook, as well as gaming sites.The developers harvest the information, and sell it to others who then exploit it, possibly to steal your account information. With so little time until Wrath of the Lich King, I'd like to remind everyone that buying gold or power-leveling services is not only not permitted, it is likely to get you burned. For more information on protecting your computer from keyloggers and other malware, check out the following guides:
McAfee report reveals the most dangerous web domains
In an era where clicking on the wrong link while browsing the web could mean your account will get hacked, and one of your guild members clicking on the wrong link means your guild bank could get emptied as well, it's always good to protect yourself and keep abreast of web security issues. In that vein, it's worth checking out a new report released by McAfee called Mapping the Mal Web Report Revisited. It tested 9.9 Million websites in 265 domains to find out which ones had a higher risk of exposing visitors to malware, spam, and malicious attacks via a red, yellow, and green system.
"McAfee" iPhone antivirus app is from McAfee but not meant for public
Update 9:45 ET: Kudos to McAfee's media relations team, burning the late-Friday oil to help us make some sense of this story. Here's the official comment from Joris Evers, director of worldwide PR for the antivirus vendor:The application you blogged about is indeed a genuine McAfee project. We are always working on new platforms including the popular ones. In this particular case we were running a test to validate some recently developed technology. We happen to be first to test AV technology for iPhone. We're happy that iPhone users are already getting excited about it, as evidenced by your blog and the thousands of people who are trying out the application. Still, we are not ready to announce a new product, our development work is in the early stages. Update 8:45 ET: In a "curiouser and curiouser" twist, we have some new info from McAfee on the iPhone AV application... which was indeed developed at McAfee, contrary to our earlier reports from their press representative. Here's what else has been confirmed: The 'Stinger' mobile AV tool for iPhone is an internal project that somehow "got into the wild." It was not intended for release (indeed, since it was developed with the community toolchain, it would have to be rebuilt for the SDK). They are happy with the positive feedback they're getting from users. It was a proof of concept. They have no idea if they'll follow through with an actual product. Corporate and consumer offices are in adjacent cities, which explains the domain registration issue. As we get additional details and some hands-on time with the tool we will update further.--- Talk about things that make you go "huh." TUAW reader "Ghost" sent in a tip pointing us to this WinAndMac post about new native iPhone antivirus software from McAfee. Antivirus software? For the iPhone? Something didn't smell right so I put in a call to Francie Coulter, VP of McAfee's Consumer Public Relations. Francie told me that to the best of her knowledge, this iPhone AV tool was not a genuine McAfee project. She is checking around to be sure and promises to get back in touch. Unfortunately, as far as TUAW can tell, this is not legitimate. The 'mcafeemobile.com' domain WHOIS points to a Sunnyvale, CA address but the company's offices are actually in Santa Clara; it's possible that the mobile R&D group is located in a different place, and the phone number matches up, but that's thin evidence either way. The iPhone app might be an innocent demo, or it may contain malware. There's a hackintosh thread up now, and several folks are discussing the relative likelihood of the tool being either legit or malicious. We suggest you use caution and avoid downloading the app, pending a definitive story from McAfee one way or the other.
HP MediaSmart Server getting security, media streaming updates
For those who've overcome the stereotype and admitted HP's MediaSmart Server into your abode, we applaud you. Apparently, HP thinks pretty highly of you as well, as it's gearing up to beam out a number of software enhancements to its iconic Windows Home Server-based device. First up is the addition of integrated server-side anti-virus software, which will be provided by McAfee but will only remain free for the first seven months. More interesting, however, are the updates involving PacketVideo technology and 64-bit Vista support. Apparently, the former will "enhance the media streaming process from the server to other digital media devices in the home, such as the MediaSmart TV," and it will also add "advanced graphics such as thumbnails of photos, in-menu browsing and album art." As for the latter, HP simply informs us that 64-bit Vista support will be added in. When can you expect the goods? Look for the whole lot to be delivered automatically sometime next month.
Symantec, McAfee announce new mobile security wares
As unfortunate as it is that the world needs such products, the mobile antivirus industry is actually pretty well matured at this point with offerings from big players like McAfee and Kapersky already several versions deep. Both McAfee and Symantec have chosen this week to announce their latest mobile goods; in McAfee's case, it's really just a rehashing of the company's existing VirusScan Mobile software, which is now available to purchasers of its Triple Play offer for comprehensive security from PC to phone and offers protection for Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices. Symantec meanwhile is introducing its Norton Smartphone Security software, which it claims to be the first to offer protection for Windows Mobile and Symbian devices in a single product. Grab it now (don't want the baddies infecting your N95, do ya?) for $29.99 for a 1-year subscription.[Via Slashphone]Read - Symantec Norton Smartphone SecurityRead - McAfee VirusScan Mobile
McAfee Virus Scan hits Windows Mobile 5.0
Windows Mobile users worried about viruses and other nastiness invading their precious little devices now have another weapon in their arsenal, with McAfee releasing it's VirusScan Mobile software for Windows Mobile 5.0. Available in both standard and Enterprise editions, it'll ward off viruses, worms, trojans, and other attacks, including what some (but not many) refer to as "SMiShing", or phishing scams attempted via SMS, and it'll stop 'em at all corners, including WiFi and Bluetooth. A free 30-day trial's available now for direct download to your device from McAfee's mobile website, with the standard version running you $29.99 for a one-year subscription.[Via Geekzone]
IBM brings Bluetooth to tennis fans, McAfee brings 'em down
Anticipating the flurry of excitement surrounding Wimbledon, IBM decided to go all out for the event and outfit trees around London with Bluetooth technology so fans can keep track of scores via their cellphone when they aren't near a TV or at the match itself. Not a bad idea, if you ask most people -- except for McAfee, that is. They're warning that by leaving your phone's Bluetooth function turned on all the time you might as well be begging for a virus -- not an entirely unreasonable warning, given that it's happened before. While McAfee's not telling people to avoid using the service all together, they do recommend that you set your phone to hiddend and only turn on the Bluetooth when you intend to use it, as well as practice a bit of common sense, like not installing applications or opening files that you weren't expecting to receive, and to back up your phone's data regularly. It's not clear what, if anything, the Bluetooth system will be used for after the tournament's over.[Via textually.org]
