Tag Archive for: bigname

Big-name sites hit by rash of malicious ads spreading crypto ransomware [Updated]

Enlarge / If you’re a gamer (or anyone else), this is not a screen you want to see. (credit: Bromium Labs)

Mainstream websites, including those published by The New York Times, the BBC, MSN, and AOL, are falling victim to a new rash of malicious ads that attempt to surreptitiously install crypto ransomware and other malware on the computers of unsuspecting visitors, security firms warned.

The tainted ads may have exposed tens of thousands of people over the past 24 hours alone, according to a blog post published Monday by Trend Micro. The new campaign started last week when “Angler,” a toolkit that sells exploits for Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and other widely used Internet software, started pushing laced banner ads through a compromised ad network.

According to a separate blog post from Trustwave’s SpiderLabs group, one JSON-based file being served in the ads has more than 12,000 lines of heavily obfuscated code. When researchers deciphered the code, they discovered it enumerated a long list of security products and tools it avoided in an attempt to remain undetected.

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Technology Lab – Ars Technica

VMware’s dual-persona tech hits big-name Android models, but not iPhone

The HTC One is among the premium phones getting VMware’s dual-persona technology.
HTC

SAN FRANCISCO—VMware’s quest to virtualize the smartphone is gaining steam on Android, with some premium devices now getting access to the company’s dual-persona technology.

VMware started talking about virtualizing Android smartphones back in late 2010. The idea is to run a second instance of Android on the phone inside a virtual machine, creating a secure workspace (a second “persona”) that can be managed by a user’s employee without affecting the user’s personal items. VMware finally brought this software to market on the LG Intuition and Motorola Razr M in May of this year.

Today at the VMworld conference, VMware said dual-persona is ready for some of the most popular Android phones. “The list of smartphones supporting Horizon Workspace now includes the recently launched LG G2 that will be on all major US carriers, Motorola DROID family of smartphones (DROID Mini, DROID Ultra, and DROID Maxx), as well as HTC One through Verizon Wireless,” VMware said in an announcement. “This adds to the expanding lineup of VMware Ready devices already in-market that includes the LG Intuition, Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4, Droid Razr HD, and Razr M by Motorola.”

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