Netscape prototype browser more secure, says analyst
253896
AOL has unveiled a prototype of its revived Netscape browser without half the hype that Mozilla programs like Firefox and Thunderbird have been fetching.
703393
America Online today released a preview of a new Netscape browser that is based on the Firefox browser, but also supports Microsoft's Internet Explorer engine.
79963
Web gateway filtering specialist Finjan is reporting a new toolkit that uses randomized JavaScript to stay hidden from virus crawlers and deliver its payload via compromised Web sites.Dubbed by Finjan's Malicious Code Research Center (MCRC) as the "Random JS Toolkit," the malware development package is allowing attackers to create threats that only attempt to victimize an individual computer in the same manner a single time to protect against discovery by anti-virus systems and researchers' automated "crawlers."By dynamically changing the JavaScript employed to deliver each variant of attack being created, and by using random file names that are only delivered to the same machine or IP address once, Finjan researchers said the malware authoring package is meant to avoid the programs used by AV researchers to find new threats emerging on the Web.Typically when automated crawler programs come across new attack samples, they return to the threats' source URLs to verify their names and characteristics and to create signature files that allow their products to block the programs -- or they enter the sites onto so-called blacklists of compromised domains.However, once a machine has been infected with an attack made using the Random JS Toolkit, the threat will recognize that the machine has already been targeted and won't attempt to download it again, thereby thwarting efforts to identify or track the exploits, Finjan experts contend.During the month of December 2007, Finjan estimates that more than 10,000 individual sites were compromised with attacks built using the Random JS Toolkit. Most of the URLs serving as distribution points for the attacks were legitimate sites that had been hijacked, the company said.Among the infected sites were some that would qualify as well-known, highly trusted domains, said Yuval Ben-Itzhak, chief technology officer of Finjan.Ben-Itzhak said the toolkit serves as a prime example of the types of tactics he expects leading-edge malware authors to utilize more frequently in the coming year."We've found the initial 10,000 sites, but we're sure that there are many more that have already been infected. When we can find this number of exploits, it is clear that this must be a very significant attack that has affected a lot of people," he said. "Using the combination of techniques available in this toolkit, the threats that are being created can become very powerful and stay alive to infect people for longer periods of time."Among the types of malware infections being served up using the toolkit, Finjan has observed everything from Trojan viruses and keystroke loggers to botnet recruiting programs, he said.For its part, Finjan's real-time code inspection technology can defend against such threats because it eschews the use of traditional virus signatures or blacklists in favor of constant monitoring for any malware activity coming across a network armed with one of its devices, Ben-Itzhak maintains.Rival AV vendors, including Symantec, contend that features such as the market leader's recently developed "generic exploit prevention," based on behavioral cues, should also be able to isolate and defend against such emerging attacks.Unlike the widespread iFrame attacks that proliferated across the Web during 2007, threats created using the Random JS Toolkit will also be much harder for security researchers to track down because they do not lead back to central sites where the actual malware code itself is hosted, Finjan maintains.Since the involved malware code is loaded directly on a site, and it won't attempt infect the same computer or IP address twice, traditional URL blacklisting and signature-based techniques will likely prove futile against the attack, the company said.However, from what the security appliance vendor can deduce, Ben-Itzhak said the firm believes there is only one malware group currently using the toolkit."From what we can tell, all the information flowing back from the compromised sites is heading to the same server," he said. "This indicates that there is probably only one group controlling this malware code thus far, and that they are probably being very successful; this is just another step forward for the criminals involved to continue to improve their attack methods and remain undetected."Ben-Itzhak said that the involved server is not one that matches any of the company's lists of machines controlled by well-known malware authoring groups such as the Russian Business Network. The server the company is tracking was originally located in Europe, but has recently been moved to China -- and likely will continue to be moved around to avoid detection, according to the expert.Most of the data the security company has seen being sent to the server has been related to online banking username and password data, he said.As part of its investigation, Finjan discovered that one of the Web properties infected with the randomized JavaScript attacks was an online advertising network that serves up as many as 14 million online banner ads per week. The security device maker reported that unnamed company was informed and is currently working to clean out its systems.
512849
Q: I&#39;ve been reading a lot about the security problems of Internet Explorer. Would I be safer using an alternative browser, and if so, which one&#39;s best?
693115
Internet security may be priceless, but people who want a safer web browser with their older versions of Windows will pay $239. Until last month, the software giant&#39;s security-challenged Internet
1796
Symantec's identity-protection software is designed to make Web surfing safer.
694464
Alternative Web browsers like Safari and Firefox will grow in popularity and force Microsoft to respond by improving Internet Explorer, predicts Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape Communications.
422167
Whether you are using Firefox or Internet Explorer, Maxthon or Opera, there is no "safe" browser, says Symantec. The company also said Firefox flaws outpaced IE flaws during the first six months of 2006.
189807
Browser flaw may leave you vulnerable to phishing attacks.
553989
Basic authentication sucks Flaws in the way the latest version of Mozilla Firefox presents authentication dialog boxes leave the door open for cybercrooks to trick users into handing over login credentials, a leading security researcher warns.â¦
590170
Security company Internet Security Systems is warning of a critical security hole in a commonly used technology from the Mozilla Foundation called the Netscape Network Security Services library that could leave Web servers vulnerable to remote attack.
100561
Blog: Symantec technology creates new protection for Internet Explorer users.
706755
Attacks against Web-services applications are expected to increase, analysts warn, and network security managers may not be prepared.
448507
An independent researcher finds an Internet Explorer vulnerability that could turn drag-and-drop into drag-and-infect.
740908
Danish security research firm Secunia has reported a vulnerability that occurs in most browsers that can be exploited by hackers looking to spoof the content of Web sites.
419668
jpkunst writes &quot;ZDNet UK reports and PCWorld.com report that, according to Netscape founder Marc Andreessen, whose comments came during a discussion with Yahoo Chief Operating Officer Dan Rosensweig at the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday
397083
Mozilla has confirmed a vulnerability in its Firefox browser that could be used by attackers to scout out a system before they undertake a more aggressive assault.