Privacy, Security & Virus Information

McAfee Avert Labs Unveils Security Predictions for 2008

There's Good News and then There's Bad News . . .

The Good News

McAfee Avert Labs are predicting that adware will diminish thanks to a strong combination of efforts from the legal and technical fields. As lawsuits increase in frequency (and results) fewer companies will risk the use of adware. This has a doule impact, by making the software less lucrative for designers, which means an overall decline in the amount of adware!

Virtualization will help security vendors to build better and more resilient defences. (this good news is, of course, shadowed with the ever-looming reality that for every one good guy building a better resource, there are dozens of web-criminals looking to circumvent it.

The Bad News

Nuwar, also called the Storm Worm, has become infamous as the most versatile virus on record. Not only is this virus noxious, it's also very slippery - leaving the bot masters behind securely in the shadows. As authorities become better at finding and persecuting bot masters, it is likely that the internet world will see more "nuwar wannabes" - unfortunately resulting in higher danger for computer users.

Web 2.0 sites, like salesforce.com, monster.com, MySpace and so on are going to get the biggest hit. These sites provide a distribution centre for malware and a limitless resource for data mining.

Another big target will be online gaming sites. These sites have already seen a fair share of hidden viruses in game downloads, but now hackers are taking things to the next level. Online gaming has become a virtual economy resource, with a currency of its own. The number of Trojans that steal gaming passwords outpaced those that target bank accounts in 2007, and are expected to continue to rise.

VOIP attacks will continue to rise. The number of security vulnerabilities in Voice Over IP Applications more than doubled between 2006 and 2007. McAfee predicts that 2008 will see another 50% increase.

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