Microsoft exec calls for internet quarantine in response to drastic times

Technology giant Microsoft wants to treat PCs infected with malware like they have the plague.

"Just as when an individual who is not vaccinated puts others' health at risk, computers that are not protected or have been compromised with a bot put others at risk and pose a greater threat to society," Scott Charney, corporate vice president for trustworthy computing at Microsoft, wrote in a recent company blog post.

Charney's proposal would ban PCs infected with malware from internet connectivity in an effort to prevent the spread of botnets to other devices on the web. While his proposal sounds radical, research supports it. A separate study showed disconnecting infected PCs from the top-50 internet networks could eliminate the spread of nearly half of all botnets, PC World reports. The process is feasible as well, as the news provider reports internet service providers have the resources to disconnect individual computers from their networks if they lack secure anti-malware protective measures.

The proposal comes at a time when national security, government infrastructure and energy grid technology have been threatened by malware attacks. According to Charney, drastic measures are required when even national defense systems are incapable of preventing cyber crime.

"Notwithstanding this emerging discussion, it appears to many people that neither governments nor industry are well-positioned to respond to this highly complex threat and that, from a policy and tactical perspective, there is considerable paralysis," Charney wrote.

Just as the World Health Organization calls for quarantine when human viruses rapidly spread throughout the population, such as the H1N1 virus or the Avian flu, MIcrosoft is positioning itself as the authority looking to eliminate the spread of computer viruses, such as Stuxnet or Zeus.

"In the physical world, international, national and local health organizations identify, track and control the spread of disease which can include, where necessary, quarantining people to avoid the infection of others," Charney said. "Simply put, we need to improve and maintain the health of consumer devices connected to the internet in order to avoid greater societal risk."

The announcement is a sign of the progress malware has made on an international scale. As botnets are designed to discretely spread through networks of devices, destroying hardware and stealing money along the way, cutting off infected devices instills a barrier between malware and uninfected computers. The call to isolate infected devices, and cut off computer viruses before they can infect others connected to the web, will put more emphasis on secure anti-malware software.

While Microsoft's proposal is unlikely, it highlights the importance on updating to the latest protective software solutions. The quarantine would deny internet access to machines that fail to update their protective solutions, implying the importance of anti-malware software to security across the entire internet.

Organizations join to petition for net neutrality

SavetheInternet.com recently reported that it had collected 250,000 signatures from people in the United States on a petition aimed at preserving net neutrality. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Comcast in a suit that claimed the internet service provider violated the law.The organization is made up of members from other special interest groups such as Free Press, the American Civil Liberties Union and MoveOn.org. The hope of the petition is to inform the Federal Communications Commission that the people of the U.S. do not support the Supreme Court's decision."The internet holds truly revolutionary potential to give marginalized communities a more powerful political voice and connect them with 21st-century economic opportunity," James Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org, said. "But that potential can only be realized if the internet remains an open communications network, free from discrimination by corporate gatekeepers."The Supreme Court made the ruling in favor in Comcast because it believed that forcing the company to comply with net neutrality violated its ability to run its company without government interference. The FCC has denounced the decision because it fears ISPs will block other websites for issues of content.

Despite mobile broadband growth, fixed broadband ascends

Despite the growth of mobile broadband in recent years, sparked by the adoption of smartphones, fixed broadband subscribers grew 13 percent in 2009, according to ABI Research. Mobile broadband has revolutionized web access for millions of people - especially enterprise users - but fixed broadband is more reliable and normally much faster than wireless.Cities and towns struggling financially are seeking ways of improving broadband speed to draw new residents. As more products and services become available on the web and more people use the internet for entertainment, reliable high-speed broadband is the best way to attract those people - especially among young professionals."Fixed broadband is an attractive platform for the delivery of [internet protocol television], gaming services with low latency, rapid access to web content and secure access to non-building access points," Jake Saunders, ABI vice president for forecasting, said. "Technologies such as fiber-to-the-home, VDSL and GPON are helping to keep fixed broadband relevant to end-users."In parts of the world still without access to reliable broadband, it is unlikely that fixed broadband will become the preferred choice as these countries begin implementing it. According to Business Daily Africa, parts of the continent currently trying to bring its residents broadband prefer mobile broadband.

Main Street Broadband to prove high-speed internet to Donalsonville, Georgia

Residents of Donalsonville, Georgia recently learned that they will soon be able to access high-speed internet thanks to Main Street Broadband. The company will begin its expansion effort immediately in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Utility Service.The expansion is part of a broader undertaking to improve broadband speed in both southern Georgia and North Florida - two of the most under served regions in the United States. Main Street and the USDA have used feedback from people in the area on social networking sites to gauge the areas with the most demand."Our focus is providing quality and affordable high speed internet service to the residents and businesses of Donalsonville," Mike Mies, co-founder and CEO of Main Street said. "We receive such positive feedback from our customers on how they use our services, from continuing education to utilizing social media and enabling small business efficiencies."In Donalsonville, service will likely be available to the entire community some time in June.The North Florida Broadband Authority received an $18 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in late February to improve broadband speed and access throughout the region.

Malware creators using Adobe to spread strains

Slow computers are often the result of a malware-laden hard drive. Cyber criminals spread viruses in a number of ways, but one of the most popular is using fake Adobe updates and other malicious PDF files to take control of computers.

Slow computers are often the result of a malware-laden hard drive. Cyber criminals spread viruses in a number of ways, but one of the most popular is using fake Adobe updates and other malicious PDF files to take control of computers. A recently discovered strain of malware uses a fake Adobe update to overwrite software, especially antivirus programs, to prevent the program from seeking updates. This malware is especially powerful because even after it is removed, the programs it alters are so damaged that they will likely be unable to update themselves down the road. "They will lose the auto-updating functionality of whatever software is affected even after the malware is cleaned up," Rik Ferguson, a security analyst for Trend Micro, told Network World. "That could of course leave them open to exploitation further down the line if critical vulnerabilities don't get patched as a result." Another new strain of malware uses PDFs to spread its virus. A message claiming to be from Facebook informs the recipient that they must change their password by following instructions on the PDF attached to the email. Users are advised that Facebook does not require users to change login information in this way.

Malware numbers misleading, China responsible for most

Despite the numbers that finger the United States as the guiltiest nation in regards to malware, a report recently released by Symantec indicates that Chinese cyber criminals are responsible for more malware than any other nation.

Despite the numbers that finger the United States as the guiltiest nation in regards to malware, a report recently released by Symantec indicates that Chinese cyber criminals are responsible for more malware than any other nation. While a majority of the malware comes from servers in the U.S., when Symantec investigated the actual IP addresses that the malware originated from, it traced most of them back to China. The report shows that 28.2 percent of all malware comes from IP addresses in China. Romania with 21.1 percent and the U.S. with 13.8 percent round out the top three. "A large proportion of targeted attacks are sent from legitimate webmail accounts which are located in the U.S. and therefore, the IP address of the sending mail server is not a useful indicator of the true origin of the attack," Paul Wood, a senior analyst at Symantec's MessageLabs Intelligence, said. Chinese malware has become a major problem globally. Google recently announced that it will no longer censor search results after an attack was traced back to two Chinese schools. The nation's government denies any role in the attack, but the target of the measure - two human rights activists - may prove otherwise.

States hope broadband will create jobs

Citing recent news regarding increased broadband access, technology officials in both Oklahoma and South Carolina have commented that they view broadband as a method of improving employment in the short term. Also, broadband access is a major part of ongoing education reform plans, so the long-term effects of improved access on employment numbers is clear, according to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski. United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is leading the broadband expansion efforts in rural parts of the country. EnidNews.com recently reported that Vilsack believes that grants awarded to ISPs in Oklahoma will help the state's rural regions develop a broadband infrastructure that provides better education opportunities to young people and new capability to farm businesses. "The broadband projects announced [Tuesday] will give rural Americans access to the tools they need to attract new businesses, educational opportunities and jobs," Vilsack said. "The Obama administration understands that bringing broadband to rural America provides a gateway for businesses and key anchor institutions - such as libraries, schools, public buildings and community centers - to provide services to thousands of Americans." In South Carolina, however, a 2009 contract that leased airwaves to two private telecommunications agency prevented the state from taking advantage of the FCC's new plan, according to Free-Times.com.