La Piazza Blog - PANDA SECURITY SUPPORT

Posted by Leyre Velasco, November 3rd, 2009

Do I have a virus? Am I protected with my current antivirus? Can I post in the Panda Forum? How can I activate my product?
All the answers to these questions and many more can be found in Panda antivirus Technical Support website. Resolve yourself your query any time of the day and from anywhere in the world.
Do you still not know it? Access now the Technical Support page and see it for yourself!! At the product level, Panda offers an extensive Knowledge Base which includes the most searched solutions tailored for you.

From the free antivirus option, you will be able to scan your computer completely free through an online scanner, detecting malware infections, such as threats, rootkits, trojans, identity theft, etc. Besides, from the Panda Support page, you will be able to access the Customer Service section, containing the most frequently asked questions about modifying your customer details, a password reminder wizard and so on.

Last but not least, we would like to highlight the Support Forum, a community meeting point where you can discuss technical and off-topic issues, make suggestions, share your experiences about the Panda products and of course, find solutions to your questions. Why don’t you join in? Simply register and take an active part in the forum!!

How else can we improve Support? Share your suggestions with us! We would be delighted to hear from you!

Posted by Miguel Corral Rivas October 01, 2009

We are all concerned, to one extent or another, about the new swine flu virus which is generating widespread alarm, and malware creators are wasting no time in exploiting this concern to spread malicious programs.

In this case they are using a Trojan, propagated massively via emails with messages about swine flu, to steal confidential information.

1. These Trojans enter computers when users open a PowerPoint presentation (“Pos.exe”) claiming to expose a ‘great secret about the financial conspiracy involving pharmaceutical laboratories’.
2. On running this attachment to emails, the Trojan is downloaded to the computer without the user’s knowledge, while the presentation is displayed on screen.
3. This backdoor Trojan, called WinVNC.A, is designed specifically to steal confidential information from users and send it to the creator of the malware.

Panda Security advises users to ensure that their antivirus is kept up-to-date and not to run attachments from dubious sources.

Similarly, for those people who do catch swine flu or have to spend a few days at home as a precaution, these recommendations are just as important. 

Of course in this case, we hope you get well soon!!

Miguel Corral Rivas -  Expert Technician

Posted by Blanca

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites are inceasingly being targeted by cyber-criminals drawn to the wealth of personal information supplied by users, experts warn.

Data posted on the sites - name, date of birth, address, job details, email and phone numbers - is a windfall for hackers.

A vicious virus Koobface - “koob” being “book” in reverse - has affected thousands of Facebook and Twitter users since August 2008, said Asier Martinez, our security specialist. “Its spread has been very significant and it has been detected in 4,000 different variants,” he said.

The virus hijacks the accounts of social networking site users and sends messages steering friends to hostile sites containing malware, a malicious software often designed to infiltrate a computer system for illicit purposes.

In one of its variants, Koobface sends the victim a warning that its Flash player is outdated along with an invitation to download a new version, which is in fact the virus.

Remenber that malware can be used to steal bank account data or credit card information once installed on a personal computer.

Facebook has sought to resist attacks by Koobface and similar viruses by blocking links to hostile sites and shutting down accounts from users that show signs of infection, such as sending too many messages.  You also must be very careful with people who ask to join your friends list adding that hackers often sent requests.

Another danger of social networking sites are:

• The popular quizzes.
• Horoscopes and games made available for free to users which can sometimes be used to hide links to hostile sites.
• Birthday greetings as well as messages sent at Christmas and other holidays may also appear to come from friends when in fact they are linked directly to sites that try to convince would-be victims to reveal personal information like passwords or bank numbers.

The number of viruses detected in recent years has exploded while the profile of cyber-criminals has changed. Before it was very savvy teenagers who wanted to show off their computer skills. Now you don’t really need to know much about information technology to be a hacker, all the tools have already been created.

Now, why not sharing with me some of your experiences?

Posted by Ana

Please, don’t feel offended! An Irish friend just sent it to me and I thought it was a funny way to say bye bye, I’m going on holiday! See you back in a few days! In the meantime, keep enjoying our forum.