Yahoo users exposed to malware attack

Yahoo.com visitors over the last few days may have been served with malware via the Yahoo ad network, according to a security firm in the Netherlands. Users clicking on some of the ads were redirected to sites armed with code that exploits vulnerabilities in Java and installs a variety of different malware.

In a blog post, Fox IT estimated that, based on sample traffic, the number of visits to the site carrying the malicious code was visited around 300,000 times per hour.

"Given a typical infection rate of 9% this would result in around 27,000 infections every hour. Based on the same sample, the countries most affected by the exploit kit are Romania, Britain, and France. At this time it's unclear why those countries are most affected, it is likely due to the configuration of the malicious advertisements on Yahoo," Fox IT said on its blog.

The security firm found evidence that the redirects go to domains hosted in the Netherlands, but was unable to identity the perpetrators. Traffic has slowed to the exploit, Fox IT noted, suggesting that Yahoo is addressing the vulnerability.

Yahoo confirmed the presence of malware on its servers and said it had taken steps to combat the issue.

"We recently identified an ad designed to spread malware to some of our users," Yahoo said in a statement. "We immediately removed it and will continue to monitor and block any ads being used for this activity."




source : cnet

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Google, Microsoft, Apple & more demand government surveillance reform

Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and other big names in tech have joined forces to protest government surveillance worldwide, calling for “Global Government Surveillance Reform” to better balance keeping citizens safe while also preserving their privacy. The group, which also includes AOL, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yahoo, sets out five principles for transparency, oversight, accountability, and respect, penning a collective letter to President Obama and the US Congress in which they allege the balance of power has tipped too far away from the people and too much toward the stat

According to the eight firms, while they recognize that governments have a responsibility to protect citizens, they nonetheless believe that it’s time to rework the current laws which no longer address the digital age. Instead, they must be “rule-bound, narrowly tailored, transparent, and subject to oversight” in order to permit privacy and free expression.

The five guiding principles the companies set out echo and expand on those concepts. For instance, governments must be constrained in what user-information they collect, it’s argued, with “sensible limitations” on how much disclosure they can force out of service providers. Google and others have been vocal in recent demands for permission to reveal how many national security requests they receive each year.

Bulk data collection – potentially including the sort of huge location tracking the NSA is believed to be undertaking – is also name-checked, as is the need for a “clear legal framework” in which the right to protest disclosure is supported. Such laws should be set up in such a way that “the courts are accountable to an informed citizenry” it’s suggested.

Meanwhile, there’s also a request that governments be more open-minded about where data is stored – not requiring it to be within a country’s borders, for instance – and for countries to work together on better, more transparent sharing of information between each other.

Whether the pleading for reform will fall on deaf ears remains to be seen, but it’s clear that none of the key tech industry players is keen to go quietly along with increasing surveillance and government intrusion. Google has accelerated plans to encrypt all Drive data as a result, while Microsoft is similarly strengthening its security. The Obama government is yet to comment on the open letter.




SOURCE: slashgear

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Yahoo reclaims top web property spot from Google in ComScore US report

For the first time in over two years, Yahoo came in at number on on ComScore‘s list of Top 50 US Web Properties. The list, which was just released today, is a bit of a surprise, as Yahoo hasn’t claimed the top position since May 2011. While initial speculation made it seem like the acquisition of Tumblr had something to do with this boost, that is not the case.

Yahoo has still held on strong at the top of the list, claiming position two or three, several times in the past few months but they hadn’t reclaimed the top spot until this month. Yahoo also currently has the top Ad Focus ranking score, which measures a site’s reach online.

It’s hard to pin down why the sudden increase in Yahoo’s popularity. Marketing Land initial speculated that the Tumblr acquisition had a lot to do with it and that some of the site’s traffic was counting underneath the Yahoo umbrella. However, Tumblr is actually on the list on its own, claiming the 28th spot.

Later on, a statement from ComScore noted that none of Tumblr’s traffic has been combined with Yahoo’s and that another unknown factor is playing into the sudden boost. They added that it is likely just a normal seasonal fluctuation, as both Google and Yahoo have had very close numbers over the past few months.





VIA Marketing Land

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