Stories about: SDL

For years, many security consultants and well-meaning guidelines have recommended completely disabling ActiveX in Internet browsers (mainly Internet Explorer) to prevent a particular type of Web client-side attack. Running a browser without ActiveX enabled can be a frustrating experience for end-users, as many popular and legitimate Web sites use ActiveX to enhance the user's overall experience.

Mac users have long gloated that the Mac OS is safer than Windows. The gloating should stop: There's plenty of recent evidence that Vista is, in fact, a safer operating system than Mac OS X.

On March 12, McAfee's AVERT labs reported 10,000 Web pages using Active Server Pages (ASP) had been infected through SQL injection. A few days later, Microsoft employee Neil Carpenter detected 14,000 maliciously-modified Web pages. After the initial SQL injection, the automated attack injected a malicious Javascript or Iframe code to redirect visitors to criminal-controlled Web sites. The malicious Web sites then attempted to invisibly exploit end-users using multiple, previously patched vulnerabilities, or if no vulnerabilities were found, attempted to socially engineer the visitor into running additional software.

Microsoft's Windows Vista recorded about half as many vulnerabilities in its first full year of availability as Windows XP did in its opening 12 months, company security executives said Thursday.

It was nearly 10 years ago that FedEx first decided to translate its Web content and applications for non-English-speakers throughout the world. At the time, it was ahead of the game, but today, companies in all kinds of industries realize it's crucial to speak to customers around the world in their native languages.

Flawed antipiracy software now being exploited by attackers has been bundled with Windows for the last six years to protect game publishers, Macrovision said Wednesday.

I travel the world helping people make their computers and networks more secure. A question I get asked every week is, "What are the best steps I can take to protect my network?" I can understand the concern. Despite increasing amounts of the IT budget being thrown at the problem, nearly every computer security survey taken says malicious computer hacking has never been worse. It's more criminal in nature and more pervasive, and it's stealing more money and identities than ever before.

As corporate vice president of Trustworthy Computing (TwC) at Microsoft, Scott Charney is among those at the helm of the company's long-standing efforts to improve the security of its products. In an interview with Computerworld, Charney -- a former federal prosecutor of computer crimes and an assistant district attorney in Bronx, New York, before that -- talked about TwC, the changing threat environment and what security fears keep him awake at night.

A wave of attacks targeting Microsoft's Office 2003 last year taught the company some tough security lessons it's now aggressively applying, a Microsoft software engineer said Friday.

As corporate vice president of Trustworthy Computing (TwC) at Microsoft, Scott Charney is among those at the helm of the company's long-standing efforts to improve the security of its products. In an interview with Computerworld, Charney -- a former federal prosecutor of computer crimes and an assistant district attorney in the Bronx before that -- talked about TwC, the changing threat environment and what security fears keep him awake at night.

Everybody knows virtualization isn't just about VMware anymore. Many users are past the rush to server virtualization and now need to increase the benefits of the move. They need not only to improve efficiency, performance and management, but also to find ways to extend the technology to their desktop, storage and mobile environments. That's a heavy burden. Product choices can be overwhelming, and a starting point difficult to find. Get on your way with promising products from these 10 companies: