For the average user spam has always been an annoyance. For the average spammer it has always been about making money. For the criminal gangs that have muscled in on this lucrative industry during the last few years it is now about territory and control. Control, that is, of the botnets behind the malware distribution networks that they rent out to the spamming middle men to enable them to ply their trade in relative safety from the crippled arm of the law. . Leading AV researchers at Kaspersky have now identified three criminal gangs which are participating in an increasingly desperate battle of the botnets. This turf war is, as all turf wars have a habit of doing, turning nasty and it is the average computer who is getting caught ion the crossfire. No longer are the gangs happy to settle for a slice of the spam pie, they want it all. And that means control over as many compromised third party computers to create the biggest of mega zombie botnets. To accomplish this, the gangs behind the Bagle, Warezov and Zhelatin worms are turning their attention to ridding those compromised computers of rival gang malware infections in order to install their own and gain that control. . Discover the fierce competition among botnet syndicates and its effects on daily users. These covert groups innovate malicious tactics, heightening risks and jeopardizing privacy.. botnet warfare, cybercrime threats, malware distribution. . Bill Locke
Spam has become so bad in the US that even advertisers have admitted that restrictions are needed. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which once opposed any federal anti-spam legislation, says it will now lobby for federal and state laws to . . . . Spam has become so bad in the US that even advertisers have admitted that restrictions are needed. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which once opposed any federal anti-spam legislation, says it will now lobby for federal and state laws to control the growth of million-message batches of emails. A daily flood of spam vexes consumers and internet service providers (ISPs) alike, whose attempts to block it are circumvented by stealthy emailing technology, says the DMA, which has 4,700 members. Jerry Cerasale, the DMA's vice president for government affairs, told Reuters that the sheer volume would swamp the medium, rendering it useless. The link for this article located at vnunet.com is no longer available. . The rise of spam in America has prompted calls from advertisers for stricter regulations and oversight.. Email Regulation, Spam Control, Anti-Spam Actions. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
A flaw found in newer versions of the PHP Web server scripting language could allow attackers to crash, and in some cases control, computers over the Internet, an open-source developer group announced Monday. The vulnerability affects versions 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 of PHP, according to the PHP Group.. . .. A flaw found in newer versions of the PHP Web server scripting language could allow attackers to crash, and in some cases control, computers over the Internet, an open-source developer group announced Monday. The vulnerability affects versions 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 of PHP, according to the PHP Group. The flaw compromises different computer architectures in different ways: Web servers running on Intel IA-32 hardware could crash, while other systems, including Sun Microsystems' Solaris, could allow the attacker to infiltrate the computer. The flaw occurs because of a problem in the way PHP handles the memory allocated for data recovered from customer forms on Web pages. Such data is known as POST data, after the HTTP command name, and could be formatted by an attacker in a way to compromise the Web server. The link for this article located at CNET is no longer available. . A vulnerability in PHP versions 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 may allow cybercriminals to compromise or disrupt Web servers across the Internet.. PHP Flaw, Web Server Security, Open Source Threat. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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