97 Arrested Worldwide in Malware Operation

BY ANTHONY DEUTSCH AND JOSEPH AX

AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK Mon May 19, 2014 5:25pm EDT

(Reuters) - Authorities arrested about 100 people as part of a global crackdown on malicious software used to infect half a million computers, U.S. and European authorities said on Monday.

The software, created by an organization called "BlackShades," allows hackers to control other people's computers remotely, recording keystrokes, stealing passwords and gaining access to their personal files.

In some cases, users employed the inexpensive software, known as BlackShades' Remote Access Tool or RAT, to take over the computers' cameras and spy on their owners, U.S. officials said at a press conference in New York. They said in other cases, users sent a ransom note, requiring payment before unlocking their victims' documents.

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An end to computer viruses? Start-up claims it can stop malware

By Sasha Bogursky

Published February 17, 2014

FoxNews.com

An Israeli start-up claims its software will put an end to all viruses and malware, even anticipating attacks and blocking them before they are created.

That’s because viruses are copycats, said Liran Tancman, CEO and co-founder of the 10-person software firm Cyactive. Creating new code for each new piece of malware is expensive and impractical – and nearly impossible, he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/02/17/start-up-claims-can-stop-all-future-viruses-and-malware/?intcmp=obnetwork

And end to viruses would be welcome indeed - we are hit by Melissa in the late 1980's and it cost thousands of dollars and countless man hours to eradicate the effects.

Yahoo malware turned European computers into bitcoin slaves

Search firm remains silent on how its ad servers infected Windows PCs of visitors to homepage

• Alex Hern
• theguardian.com, Wednesday 8 January 2014 06.52 EST

Yahoo! President and CEO Marissa Mayer delivers a keynote address at the 2014 International CES at The Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on January 7, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photograph: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

As many as two million European users of Yahoo may have received PC malware from virus-laden ads served by its homepage over a four-day period last week.

Some of the malware would turn PCs into bitcoin miners - a huge drain on its computing resources - without users' knowledge. Yahoo has been criticised for not saying how many people could be affected or doing anything to help those with the malware, which attacked flaws in Java modules on systems.