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Instant Messenger

Yahoo Messenger exploit enables status message hijacking

Angela Moscaritolo December 05, 2011

A newly discovered zero-day exploit against Yahoo Messenger can allow an attacker to hijack users' status updates, according to researchers at anti-virus firm BitDefender.

Microsoft mandates Messenger upgrade for security flaws

Angela Moscaritolo September 01, 2009

Users will be required to update to the latest, non-vulnerable version of Windows Live Messenger -- or they risk being denied access to the instant messaging service.

Microsoft sues to stop Windows Live Messenger spam

Dan Kaplan July 17, 2009

Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against a company that allegedly delivered spam over instant messenger, known as "spim," to thousands of its 320 million Windows Live Messenger users.

Google Talk users hit by phishers

Chuck Miller February 25, 2009

Soon after Google apologized for a Gmail outage this week, it was hit by a phishing attack spreading through its instant messenger platform.

Microsoft pushes out 11 patches for 26 flaws

Dan Kaplan August 12, 2008

In its largest security update in 18 months, Microsoft on Tuesday delivered 11 patches to resolve 26 vulnerabilities in its operating system and related components.

IM malware attacks increase, report

Sue Marquette Poremba May 01, 2008

Malicious code attacks through instant messaging services have tripled between March and April.

Event describes importance of securing Web 2.0

Greg Masters April 29, 2008

The Secure Enterprise 2.0 Forum, which looked at the advantages and security risks of Web 2.0 technology use in the enterprise, debuted today in New York.

Worth the upgrade

April 01, 2008

The TJX data breach has made wireless encryption a priority for retailers and other enterprises. Frank Washkuch Jr. finds out why.

The next generation

Dan Kaplan April 01, 2008

AIG's CSO Paul DeGraaff says security professionals must gauge the risks of a younger workforce, Dan Kaplan.reports.

Spammers crack Windows Live Mail security

Jim Carr February 11, 2008

Spammers have developed bots that are capable of signing up and creating random accounts on Microsoft's Windows Live Mail service, according to security researchers at Websense.

SANS Institute Top 20 highlights client-side risks

Dan Kaplan November 27, 2007

This week's news that Apple's QuickTime media player contains a new and "extremely dangerous" flaw served as a perfect lead-in to the release of the latest SANS Top 20, which lists client-side vulnerabilities among the most dangerous threats facing end-users.

Trojan quickly building botnet via MSN Messenger

Frank Washkuch Jr. November 19, 2007

A trojan has used MSN Messenger to multiply the number of PCs added to a botnet 24 times in one day.

Los Angeles botmaster pleads guilty, faces 60 years in prison, $1.75 million fine

Frank Washkuch Jr. November 12, 2007

A California man is facing a maximum of 60 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine after agreeing to plead guilty to using botnets to steal PC users' personal and financial information.

News briefs

November 01, 2007

Clothing retailer Gap Inc. revealed that a laptop containing the Social Security numbers of 800,000 job applicants was stolen from a third-party vendor. The laptop contained info of job applicants who applied to the company's Old Navy, Banana Republic, Gap and Outlet stores. The vendor, not identified by Gap, contacted law enforcement authorities about the breach. The data was not encrypted.

SC Magazine survey - Preventing a data breach

October 24, 2007

A legion of data exposures have occurred over the past year, with many affected companies not only being forced to address customer and investor concerns, but also pay fines and adhere to prolonged sets of requirements administered by the Federal Trade Commission. So just how is news of such breaches, exposures and possible thefts affecting the way organizations -- large and small -- focus on information security plans?

Apple SDK release unlocks iPhone security issues

October 19, 2007

Apple's upcoming release of a software development kit (SDK) for the iPhone may allow developers to write applications for the mobile device, but it could also open a Pandora's box of potential security issues.

AOL patches flaw with AIM 6.5; experts warn against corporate platform use

Frank Washkuch Jr. October 17, 2007

AOL patched a flaw allowing remote code execution when it released AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) 6.5, but researchers are still urging caution for enterprise users of the application.

Keep your IM-using employees on a need-to-know basis

Don Montgomery, vice president of marketing, Akonix October 03, 2007

As long as people have competed against others, whether commercially, militarily or athletically, their organizations have possessed information or practices that need to be kept secret.

Core Security discloses AIM vulnerability

Jim Carr September 26, 2007

Millions of computers with registered copies of AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) are at risk to a variety of attacks via a vulnerability in AIM 6.1, AIM beta 6.2, AIM Pro and AIM Lite, according to researchers at Core Security.

Microsoft trims one fix from Patch Tuesday roster

Frank Washkuch Jr. September 10, 2007

Microsoft has made this week’s Patch Tuesday release a bit easier on IT professionals.

MSN Messenger video-based exploit revealed

Dan Kaplan August 28, 2007

Security experts are advising users of MSN Messenger to be wary of untrusted web cam conversations after exploit code was posted today for a zero-day vulnerability in the instant messaging (IM) application.